Threats to Afghan boy, fan of Messi, to leave the country

Kabul, May 3: The father of a 5-year-old Afghan kid who got signed shirts from his soccer legend Lionel Messi says the family was compelled to leave Afghanistan in the midst of steady phone dangers.

Mohammad Arif Ahmadi whose child got features when he was shot wearing a custom made Argentina shirt with No 10 on the back says they have moved to Pakistan and settled in the city of Quetta, seeking after a superior life there.

Ahmadi addressed The Associated Press via phone from Quetta today.

He says he expected that his child, Murtaza Ahmadi, would be seized in the wake of turning into a web sensation after pictures of him destroying a Messi shirt made of a striped plastic sack circulated around the web.