Body of 'heartbroken' Lionel Messi fan from Kerala, who went missing after Argentina's loss to Croatia, recovered

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Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Police on Sunday recovered the body of the die-hard Messi fan who went missing on June following Argentina's unexpected 3-0 defeat at the hands of Croatia in FIFA World Cup 2018. The body of the 30-year-old Binu Alex has been found near Illikkal Bridge in Kottayam.

Kerala: Body of 30-year-old Dinu Joseph, a fan of Argentinian captain Lionel Messi who went missing on June 22, has been found near Illikkal Bridge in Kottayam. He had gone missing after Argentina's 3-0 loss to Croatia in 2018 FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/oultMxrtDZ — ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2018

A team of police divers and locals had initiated a search soon after the incident. They searched the Meenachil River that flows by Arumannoor on Friday.

His parents told police that Alex was upset ever since he watched the FIFA World Cup match on Thursday during which Argentina was mauled by Croatia 0-3. Alex had gone missing from the house since 4 am.

A suicide note was also found where Alex said that he is leaving the world as he has nothing more to watch and see. A close relative of Alex revealed that he was a hardcore Messi fan and his mobile phone had a picture of Messi as the wallpaper.

He had purchased a T-shirt like the one worn by Messi and had sat down to watch the match, said Alex's mother. However, in the morning when she got up at 4 am to prepare food for Alex, she saw that the back door of the kitchen was open and immediately called her husband.

Alex was unmarried and used to work as an accountant in a private company here.

(With inputs from agencies)