Qatar striker Almoez Ali appears to have gained a fan in the one and only Lionel Messi.
Ali, who used to play in Spain with Cultural Leonesa, fired his country to an incredible Asian Cup win. He scored nine goals across the tournament, earning him the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament.
He scored a glorious overhead kick to open the scoring in the final against Japan - the goal seeing him break the record for the most goals scored in a single Asian Cup campaign.
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And Messi, an expert in breaking records, sent him a signed Barcelona shirt in a brilliant gesture. It had Ali's name and number on the back, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's signature well and truly the icing on the cake.
BeIN Sport presenter Ayman Jada gave the incredible gift to Ali as part of a show and you can only imagine the buzz he got off from receiving his own Barcelona shirt, signed by the man many deem to be the greatest of all-time.
Ali has reportedly garnered interest from AC Milan and the man himself has admitted he plans on playing in Europe soon.
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"Of course, I look for European teams because in our league in Asia, not only in Qatar but in all of Asia, we know teams are weak and we see that at the World Cup," Ali said, as per Reuters, via the Peninsula Qatar.
"They do not go far. Always, they go out, " he was quoted in a Reuters report.
"I hope to go out [to Europe] to learn and to come back for the World Cup in Doha in 2022."
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, FC Barcelona, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Argentina
