Ever since this picture made its first appearance on social media a week ago, it has created quite a buzz and pulled at heartstrings across the world.
The photo of a child wearing an improvised football jersey, made out of a blue and white plastic shopping bag, with international superstar Lionel Messi’s name and number neatly printed in blue ink (perhaps by a caring parent?) has drawn an ‘awww-some’ response on social media by people who want to send him a real football jersey.
Some media sites are conjecturing it originated from Iraq, but it’s not clear where exactly the shot of a fuzzy-haired young Messi fan was taken.
One of the more popular Twitter fan accounts say they were contacted by a representatives of Lionel Messi himself, asking whether the kid could be located so that Messi could arrange to send him an actual mini-Messi shirt.
Lionel Messi was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2010. Since then, he has travelled extensively across the globe to raise awareness about childcare issues, especially in developing countries. His fans number in legions, but perhaps none cuter than this one!