Lionel Messi finally met the kid who made his jersey out of a plastic bag

After months of waiting, Murtaza Ahmadi finally met his hero.

Six-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi, an Afghan boy who rose to online fame by wearing a makeshift Lionel Messi jersey made from a plastic bag, finally met the Barcelona star after months of waiting.

After a meeting was set back in February, and Messi sent along some signed jerseys and a signed ball, the boy was forced into exile in May amid threats from the Taliban. He emerged on Tuesday, alive and well, in the arms of his hero.

أخيراً مرتضى يلتقي بميسي! اللجنة العليا ساعدت الطفل الأفغاني على تحقيق حلمه في #قطر. #الاهلي_برشلونة pic.twitter.com/LFHau5wWMj

— كأس آسيا تحت 23 سنة AFC قطر 2024 (@Qatar2023) December 13, 2016

“The image the world wanted to see,” the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy tweeted. “The six-year-old boy who dreamed of meeting his hero, #Messi, finally comes true.”