For a generation of Bangladeshi youngsters, Lionel Messi was more than a footballer on a television screen.
He was the reason they stayed awake until the early hours to watch a match. He was the name printed on the back of their first football jersey. He was the player they tried to imitate on school grounds, alleyways and muddy village pitches.
And, for many, he was the gateway to football itself.
Bangladesh has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, and cricket remains the country's dominant sport. Yet whenever Messi and Argentina played, the country repeatedly turned sky blue and white.
The phenomenon was not simply about supporting a foreign national team. Messi helped shape the football identity of an entire generation.
From Maradona to Messi
Argentina's popularity in Bangladesh did not begin with Messi.
Diego Maradona laid the foundation during the 1986 World Cup, when his extraordinary performances inspired a generation of Bangladeshis. For many older supporters, Argentina became a lifelong allegiance because of Maradona.
But Messi inherited that legacy and took it somewhere else.
Unlike Maradona, whose exploits many Bangladeshi youngsters experienced through television broadcasts and stories from their parents, Messi's career unfolded in real time on satellite television, smartphones and social media.
Young Bangladeshis could watch him every week for Barcelona, follow his goals and assists almost instantly, and discuss his performances with friends online.
That constant exposure made Messi feel less like a distant World Cup hero and more like a familiar sporting presence.
The boy who wanted to be Messi
Perhaps the clearest evidence of Messi's influence can be found on Bangladesh's football pitches.
In 2022, nine-year-old Raiyan Abdulla was dubbed the country's "Mini Messi" because of his dribbling ability. He idolised the Argentine and dreamed of following in his footsteps to Barcelona.
His story was hardly unusual.
Across Bangladesh, youngsters have grown up trying to copy Messi's close control, quick changes of direction and left-footed finishing.
For children playing in cramped spaces with limited facilities, Messi's style was particularly attractive. He did not rely on physical strength. He could beat opponents through balance, intelligence, timing and technique.
A ball and a small patch of ground were enough to try to imitate him.
An inspiration to Bangladesh's footballers
Messi's influence did not stop with supporters. It reached the players who eventually represented Bangladesh.
The country's national-team footballers have their own favourite clubs and players, but Argentina has traditionally had a particularly strong following among them.
Many senior and youth national-team players became ardent followers of Argentina because of Messi.
The connection is particularly striking among the women's national team.
Most Bangladesh women's national-team players have supported Argentina, with captain Sabina Khatun saying she began supporting the team in 2014 because of Messi.
Maria Manda, another key member of the national team, recalled hearing one name repeatedly while growing up in her village.
"Before 2011, when I used to stay in my village, I did not hear about Argentina but only Messi, Messi," Maria told Dhaka Tribune. "Then I started playing and watching Messi's games. I became his fan."
She admired his dribbling and ability to turn possession into goals and chances.
The influence has reached younger generations too.
Bangladesh U-20 captain Shamsunnahar has also spoken about her admiration for Messi. Asked whom she would like to meet, she immediately named the Argentine superstar and said she would ask him how he played so brilliantly.
The Barcelona effect
Messi also changed what young Bangladeshi fans watched.
His dominance at Barcelona helped push European club football into the daily lives of a much wider audience. For many youngsters, supporting Argentina went hand in hand with supporting Barcelona.
Messi became their introduction to the Champions League, La Liga and elite club football.
A child who initially stayed awake to watch Argentina could soon find himself watching Barcelona against Real Madrid, learning about the Champions League and discovering players from across Europe.
Messi widened the football window.
Qatar 2022: When Bangladesh turned Argentina
Then came Qatar 2022.
Messi's final World Cup transformed an already enormous following into something approaching a national social phenomenon.
In Dhaka and elsewhere, thousands gathered to watch Argentina's matches. Streets and houses were decorated with sky-blue-and-white flags, giant Argentina flags appeared at rallies, and Messi's No 10 shirt became one of the most visible symbols of the tournament.
The passion stretched far beyond Dhaka, with supporters organising rallies and public screenings across the country. FIFA even shared footage of Bangladeshi fans celebrating Messi's goal against Mexico, bringing the country's extraordinary support to a global audience.
And Messi noticed.
After Argentina's World Cup triumph, he acknowledged images of Bangladeshi supporters and their affection for Argentina and his No 10 shirt.
For young Bangladeshi fans, the moment carried special significance.
The distance between Buenos Aires and Dhaka suddenly felt much smaller.
More than a jersey
Messi's influence on Bangladesh's youngsters cannot simply be measured by the number of Argentina jerseys sold.
His greatest impact may be harder to quantify.
He made football aspirational.
For a young boy or girl playing on a school field, Messi represented the possibility that extraordinary football could come through skill and intelligence.
He showed youngsters that greatness could be built through repetition, patience and an obsessive relationship with the ball.
And his appeal crossed gender and generations.
The same player who inspired boys on neighbourhood fields also inspired Bangladesh's leading female footballers.
He did not only create fans.
He inspired footballers.
The legacy of No 10
Messi's playing career is moving into its final chapter, but his influence on Bangladesh's football generation is unlikely to disappear with his retirement.
The children who copied his celebrations are growing up. The youngsters who wore No 10 shirts to school are now old enough to coach younger players. Some may eventually continue into professional football, carrying the inspiration they received from him.
For Bangladesh, Messi's greatest legacy may not be the trophies, records or Ballon d'Ors.
It may be the thousands of children who first fell in love with football because of Messi — and the national-team players who grew up watching him before eventually representing their own country.
From a muddy field in a Bangladeshi village to the biggest stadiums in the world, the same dream has travelled a remarkably long distance.
For many of them, it began with a ball, a television screen and one name: Messi.