Fan creates ‘Messi Wall’ using photos and reports published in Prothom Alo
It all began in 2009, when he was seven years old. His father brought home a poster of Argentine footballer Messi and told him stories about the star. From then on, the boy became a Messi fan.
In 2018, while he was a student of class 10, his father started subscribing to Prothom Alo. That was when his obsession truly began. He started cutting out every photograph and news report about Messi published in the newspaper and pasting them onto the walls of his room. Today, an entire wall is covered with those photos and articles. It has been named the ‘Messi Wall’.
The devoted fan is 23-year-old Labib Sunam, son of graphic designer Fazlul Haque from the Kacharipara neighbourhood of Pabna town. He is currently a fourth-year student in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong.
A recent visit to Fazlul Haque’s home showed that Labib’s room is on the first floor of their two-storey house. Upon entering, one is immediately greeted by an array of Messi’s pictures. Almost the entire wall on the right-hand side is covered with Messi’s photographs and related news clippings, all published in Prothom Alo. With the pictures of Messi, there is a Bangladeshi flag placed at the top.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Labib said he was in nursery school when he first learned about Messi. He enjoyed hearing stories about Messi’s performances from his father. Later, after watching him play, he fell in love with the footballer and began collecting his photographs and news reports about him. He cut out every article and image published in Prothom Alo and pasted them on the wall, eventually naming it the ‘Messi Wall’.
However, after enrolling at university, he could no longer continue adding to the collection. This year, though, he has started collecting Messi-related news and photographs once again.
Labib said, “The photographs and reports on my wall are filled with memories of sorrow and heartbreak because Argentina failed to win the World Cup during those years. But there are also joyful memories from their most recent World Cup triumph. I want to carry these memories with me for the rest of my life. I want to dedicate one wall of my room to Messi.”
Labib’s mother, Parul Akhtar, said, “My son is a huge Messi fan. Perhaps one day he will decorate the entire room with Messi’s pictures. Watching him, we have become Messi fans too. We hope Messi will give us something special in this World Cup.”
His father, Fazlul Haque, said he considers the ‘Messi Wall’ his son created to be a piece of history. “It is filled with memories, so I have never touched it. Even if all four walls of the room end up covered with Messi’s pictures and news reports, I will have no objection,” he said.