Hand of God? Bangladeshi's Messi drawing comes alive

A young Bangladeshi architect has earned fame after his digital drawing of footballer Lionel Messi was matched in real life six years later.

Suhas Nahian's 2013 artwork shows Messi dribbling past a group of players in green and white, leaning his head forward as one of the defenders grabs his red-and-blue Barcelona jersey.

Photos of Messi shot during a recent match against Real Betis show him in an almost identical pose, complete with one defender on the ground as the Argentinian charges through.

"I painted something 6 years ago, and football gods made the image come true," Suhas, 29, said on Instagram.

He told AFP that he watched the La Liga match, which saw Messi score a hat-trick as Barcelona won 4-1, but noticed nothing exceptional until a friend phoned him and excitedly pointed out the striking similarities.

"I looked back and found those are actually very similar." he said.

"It was fascinating. I was surprised."

Suhas, who now owns an architecture firm, said the digital painting