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Threats Force Afghan Boy, Fan of Lionel Messi, to Leave Country
Murtaza Ahmadi, a five-year-old Afghan boy who received autographed shirts from Lionel Messi, and his family were forced to leave Afghanistan amid constant telephone threats
Murtaza Ahmadi got famous when a picture of him wearing a plastic bag with Lionel Messi's name emerged on social media.© AFP
Highlights
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Ahmadi is a five-year-old Afghan fan of Messi
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His photo wearing a plastic bag with Messi's name made him a sensation
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He and his family left Afghanistan for Pakistan after telephone threats
Kabul:
The father of a five-year-old Afghan boy who received autographed shirts from his football hero Lionel Messi says the family was forced to leave Afghanistan amid constant telephone threats.
Mohammad Arif Ahmadi whose son grabbed headlines when he was photographed wearing a homemade Argentina shirt with No. 10 on the back says they have moved to Pakistan and settled in the city of Quetta, hoping for a better life there.
Ahmadi spoke to The Associated Press over the telephone from Quetta on Tuesday.
He says he feared that his son, Murtaza Ahmadi, would be kidnapped after becoming an internet sensation after pictures of him wearing a Messi shirt made out of a striped plastic bag went viral.
The father says "life became a misery for us."
Topics mentioned in this article
Lionel Messi
Football
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