The man himself has apparently got involved.
An image of a young child in Iraq wearing a blue and white plastic bag with Lionel Messi’s name and number on the back has gone viral, with those behind it hoping that the child wearing the improvised jersey can be identified and presented with the real thing.
According to The Independent, the image of the child wearing the plastic bag – which is clearly an improvised attempt at an Argentina home shirt – first appeared on Turkish fan blogs, where it was claimed that the child is from Dohuk, a war-torn region of Iraq.
FOTO | Irak'ta küçük bir çocuğun poşetten yaptığı Lionel Messi forması… pic.twitter.com/ZD5b5DUOq2
— Fanatik (@fanatikcomtr) January 15, 2016
Menino arruma solução incrível para conseguir usar a 10 de Messi https://t.co/eYrWC3PjdK pic.twitter.com/4kPt6EgC96
— UOL Esporte (@UOLEsporte) January 19, 2016
Kid in warzone wearing a plastic bag w/ Messi written on it. Hope it reaches to @FCBarcelona & they send him a shirt pic.twitter.com/I567SRrB7a
— . (@xJude22) January 16, 2016
Boy, reportedly in #Iraq, made a #Messi shirt from a blue and white plastic bag. https://t.co/d29g9DSgIr
— Charles Haviland (@cfhaviland) January 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/AnupKaphle/status/689424663181586432
https://twitter.com/BreatheSport/status/689130182704103425
The image quickly spread on social media and a popular Lionel Messi fan account also claimed that Messi’s team has been in touch looking to arrange something for the child in question if and when he is identified.
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/689233739012952064
Spread the word folks.
