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19th Jan 2016

TWEETS: A campaign to identify a child wearing a plastic bag as a Lionel Messi jersey has gone viral

Conor Heneghan

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.

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.