Remember Murtaza Ahmadi, the Afghan child who showed off his homemade Leo Messi jersey earlier this year?

CREDIT: Murtaza.Amahdi10/Instagram

Using a plastic back and a few markers, Ahmadi made a jersey to honor his favorite soccer player. Not only did the jersey receive tons of love from the DIY population, the image went viral and eventually caught the attention of Lionel Messi himself.

Messi, with the help of UNICEF, sent the then five-year-old a legit jersey, complete with autograph.

Murtaza has the real thing now! #LeoMessi helped make his dream come true & gave him signed jerseys & a football. pic.twitter.com/ls6nUOdaBL

— UNICEF Afghanistan (@UNICEFAfg) February 25, 2016

No more plastic bags.

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

El niño afgano que cautivó a internet con su camiseta de la selección #argentina hecha con una bolsa de plástico pintada con el número de Lionel #Messi tuvo que huir de su país tras recibir amenazas y su familia pidió asilo al #ACNUR en #Pakistán. Foto: AFP #MurtazaAhmadi #Afganistán #Fútbol #LionelMessi #DiarioElTelegrafo #eltelegrafo #eltelegrafoep

A photo posted by Diario El Telégrafo (@el_telegrafo) on May 3, 2016 at 9:09am PDT

Thanks to the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, the agency in charge of planning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Ahmadi finally got to meet his hero!

Los Sueños se hacen realidad ? #Messi y #MurtazaAhmadi ❤

A photo posted by Diego Bogado (@bogadodiego1997) on Dec 13, 2016 at 7:14am PST

A spokesman for SC told reporters, “Murtaza’s dream was to meet his hero. We are in a fortunate position here that we were able to bring them together. It’s about a kid and his dream. That’s it. That pretty much sums up the power of football.”

But that wasn’t all, Ahmadi was invited onto the field to take a photo with Barcelona.

CREDIT: EURONEWS / YOUTUBE

Ahmadi even got to make the official ball placement in the middle of the field.

CREDIT: EURONEWS / YOUTUBE

And when it was time for the game to start, Ahmadi decided he was ready to take on the pros.

CREDIT: EURONEWS / YOUTUBE

Ahmadi joined Barcelona as they were getting ready to start the game.

Messi stepped in to let Ahmadi know that there was a front row seat waiting waiting for him.

CREDIT: EURONEWS / YOUTUBE

But Ahmadi wasn’t about to walk away from his hero.

Finally the referee jumped in and made the most heartwarming ejection soccer has ever seen.

CREDIT: EURONEWS / YOUTUBE

Announcers couldn’t get enough of the Ahmadi, saying, “he obviously thought he was going to play on the pitch, but never mind.  He’s going to get a great view for the remainder of the game.”

It started with a plastic bag, some markers, and a whole lot of heart…

Conocé la historia de este niño afgano, que va a poder conocer a su ídolo @leomessi luego de que se hiciera viral su foto con una camiseta, ¡hecha con una bolsa! ?⚽ ¡LINK EN LA BIO! ►http://kidsnews.digital/?p=1967 #messi #leomessi #liomessi #teamessi #futbol #Martaza #MurtazaAhmadi

A photo posted by Kids News (@kidsnewsok) on Feb 1, 2016 at 12:12pm PST

… but Ahmadi got to experience his dream come true.

Messi with Murtaza. Dreams do come true❤️?❤️? #messi #murtazaahmadi

A photo posted by Leo Messi (@messi10stats) on Dec 13, 2016 at 9:41am PST

In a short statement, Ahmadi told the SC, “I’m very happy to have met my hero. It is a dream for me. I can’t wait to see Messi at the game, it will be the first time for me in the stadium.”

READ: 1 Plastic Bag Made Soccer Dreams Come True For This Little Dude

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