Although the Afghan child, Murtaza Ahmadi, gained wide fame in January 2016, after the interaction of the Argentine star Lionel Messi and his meeting in Doha;
However, this was a curse for him, as his life turned into Hell soon after.
The Afghan child gained international fame when he was five years old, after a photo posted by his brother on Facebook, wearing a plastic bag in the form of the Argentine national team shirt, written on it with a pen number and Messi's name, as the picture quickly turned into a global trend on social networking sites.
The English "Bleacher Reports" website recalled the story of the child Ahmadi today, Tuesday, as it recounted how his life turned into hell after Messi interacted with the photo and met him in the Qatari capital (Doha) on the sidelines of the friendly match between Barcelona and Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia.
She said that the joy that seemed to the poor family after Messi embraced the child obsessed with the Barcelona captain quickly turned into a nightmare for him and his family, which did not know that Messi's interaction with the image of the plastic shirt will ultimately lead to death threats, attempt to escape and fear of kidnapping, and finally hide the child in Kabul away from loved ones.
đź“… December 13, 2016
Lionel Messi meets Murtaza, who was made mascot for an exhibition game in Qatar ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aMUHii6i8s
- B / R Football (@brfootball) January 28, 2021
Ahmadi's brother recalls how Messi inadvertently caused their lives to spoil, when he sent two boxes for the child through someone close to him to their humble home, and the destitute family thought as the neighbors thought that one of them would have financial help for their son, who could not find anything to buy the shirt of his beloved star. ;
The family was disappointed, however, as they found only a soccer ball and Messi shirt in the two boxes.
Murtaza Ahmadi went viral two years for being Lionel Messi's biggest fan.
Now, he's had to flee his home in Afghanistan and is asking the soccer star for help.
pic.twitter.com/hXtSHqx5Z6
- AJ + (@ajplus) December 14, 2018
Arif, the father of the child Mortada, says that their problems started from these two funds, as people believed that Messi sent a large amount of money to their family, so I started chasing the family, monitoring their house from gangs to steal money or kidnapping the child, and asking for a large ransom, and he also sent them a letter threatening direct arrest On all family members;
This prompted them to apply for asylum, but it was rejected.
"We thought that, by meeting Messi, he would do like Ronaldo (helping the child financially). We went to Doha so that Messi could do something for him, but he did nothing to Murtada," he added.
"@SoccerAM_: When 6 year old Murtaza Ahmadi finally met his idol Lionel Messi and didn't want to leave him… pic.twitter.com/jYhZPm7BKV"wow
- MOSOTHO TJ® (@ motloungt261) July 19, 2018
Quite the opposite of their aspirations, Mortada returned to Afghanistan to make his life more difficult, as people once again believed that Messi gave him money in Qatar to increase the pressures and threats to the child, who stopped going to school, and became unable to leave the house at all or practicing his hobby of playing football, and ended He ended up sending him with his uncle to the capital (Kabul), where no one knows them there.
But fears of kidnapping have intensified with the increase in bombings in the Afghan capital, forcing him to return to reside with his family several months ago.
"There were a lot of explosions everywhere. I had no place to play, and I didn't have any friends," said Murtaza.
Despite his suffering, the child remained loyal to his beloved star, as he confirmed that despite everything that happened to him, he did not regret what happened, and said, "I will wear the shirt again, because I adore Messi."