Search begins for boy in the Messi shirt

The child, who has become known as "Messi's biggest fan" after his image appeared on Turkish fan blogs, has been reportedly identified as five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi, the son of a poor farmer living in Jaghori District in the eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan

Azim Ahmadi, an Afghan living in Australia, claimed the boy is his nephew and has photographs to prove it, the BBC reported.

The child's father Arif said the original photo was taken by his oldest son Hamayon for his Facebook page.

"This little kid really loves Messi and football," Arif said. "It is not possible for us to buy [a jersey] for him because I am a simple farmer. So the kids decided to use the plastic