According to Murtaza's 15 year old brother, Homayoun, the little boy found the plastic bag and begged his older bro to make him a Messi jersey.
The brother made the shirt, snapped the photo, and put it up on social media where it caught the attention of the world, quickly making its way to Messi himself.
The five year old told news outlet Al Jazeera, "I love Messi and football. I will meet him one day."
Looks like "one day" could come very soon. The Afghan Football Federation (AFF) and Messi's charitable foundation both confirmed that they are helping arrange a meet-up between Murtaza and his hero.
The meet-up was celebrated by Messi fans on his fan club's Twitter feed:
Afghanistan Football Federation has confirmed that Messi will meet his 5 year old fan Murtaza at Camp Nou ???.. pic.twitter.com/HTNKlzxw3y
— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) February 1, 2016
Murtaza's father says he wants his son, "...to bring pride to the country and play in the international football matches one day."
The AFF said they intend to help Murtaza train to play on Afghanistan's national football team.
Particularly in the war-torn country of Afghanistan, we can safely hazard this is a particularly hopeful moment for Murtaza and his family.
Here's looking at you, kid!
Source: Al Jazeera
