Argentine goalie Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez was “forever charmed” by his visit to Bangladesh, he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. 

The Aston Villa goalkeeper received a warm welcome in the South Asian nation, noting in his Instagram post, “the people here, with their love, care, and unrivaled hospitality, have truly melted my heart.” He made the trip for promotional activities, as one of the World Cup champions.

His Instagram post highlights notable moments of his trip, including his meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. Dibu expressed his gratitude for the trip and Bangladeshis more generally, remarking, “you have all played a part in crafting this special bond that I now share with Bangladesh.” 

Special welcome Dibu cakes greeted the star at the Westin hotel in Dhaka, one with his photo hoisting the Golden Glove award and others individually iced with the Argentine football association’s logo. The baked goods merited an Instagram story for his 12.4 million followers.  

Effusive Bangladeshi support for the Argentine football team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup helped rekindle relations between the two nations. Argentina opened a new embassy in Bangladesh in February, just two months after la Scaloneta squad swept to victory in the tournament. Argentina’s last embassy in the country had been closed by the dictatorship in 1978.

 “The love that Bangladesh expressed for Argentina [during the World Cup] shows that in these times of uncertainty for the world, the Global South has to strengthen its relations,” Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said at the time.
Dibu ended his post expressing his desire to return and the role that Bangladesh now has in his journey. “So, until my next visit, I bid you farewell, leaving a piece of my heart here,” he wrote.

“I am forever charmed by Bangladesh.”