A young boy was kidnapped by ISIS and held hostage for two years because he was named after footballer Lionel Messi.

Axar.az reports citing The Sun.

The Kurdish Yazidi boy, who is now aged five, was taken by the terror group with his mother and sister in 2014 from their home in the Sinjar region.

Messi, almost never takes off his FC Barcelona shirt, which bears the name and number of his namesake, Lionel Messi, FIFA’s five-time world’s best footballer.

The family have since been rescued and are now living at a refugee camp in Dohuk.

His father, who is an ardent fan of FC Barcelona, told that Messi’s name angered his ISIS captors and they ordered his wife to change their son’s “infidel” name to Hassan.

Being in captivity has taken it’s toll on Messi, who used to spend most of his days playing with a football but now brandishes a toy gun.

He reportedly nods in disapproval when called by his name – allegedly afraid of the militants who chided his family for it.

In December, Afghan refugee Ah Murtamadi met the real Lionel Messi in heartwarming scenes – refusing to leave the pitch to stay with his hero.

Ahmadi, a five-year-old Afghan refugee, became an internet sensation at the start of the year after being pictured wearing a plastic bag with ‘Messi 10’ scrawled on it.

Murtaza met his hero as Barcelona played a friendly in Qatar against Al Ahli - and was so happy he refused to leave the pitch when asked.

The five-year-old hung around with Messi, who stood smiling and laughing with the little boy.

His antics also delighted team-mates Luis Suarez and Neymar, who couldn't stop laughing at the Argentina superstar.