Lionel Messi fan Dinu Alex went missing since Argentina's 3-0 loss to Croatia in the World Cup.

The diehard Lionel Messi fan from Kerala, who had been missing since Argentina's humiliating 3-0 loss to Croatia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been found dead.

30-year-old Dinu Alex had been missing since Friday early morning and had left a suicide note at home, referring to Argentina's loss as the reason for his decision. His body has been found near a river.

Apart for the suicide note, Alex's parents had also said that he was a hardcore fan of Argentina and their massive loss could be the reason why he left home.

Argentina's loss to Croatia put them on the brink of an exit from the World Cup. If Argentina, indeed, get knocked out, this will be the first time they will fail to advance from their group since 2002.

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Police had taken a dog to Alex's house along with them and he walked down to the banks of the Meenachal river, which was close to his house.

Following the instincts of the dog, Police and the fire force had been searching in the river.

On Sunday morning, Alex's body was found underneath a bridge a bridge in Kottayam North police station limit.

Earlier, the suicide note that the Police recovered from Alex's home said, "I have nothing left to see, I'm going deep into deaths."

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Police officials also deemed that Alex could have committed suicide because of the defeat that Messi's team faced as they could not find any other reason for his act.

A close relative of Alex had told IANS that he was a hardcore Messi fan and his mobile phone had a picture of Messi as the wallpaper.

"Yesterday, he purchased a T-shirt like the one worn by Messi and sat down to watch the match. In the morning when his mother got up at 4 a.m to prepare food for Alex, she saw that the back door of the kitchen was open and immediately called her husband.

"They then went to check on Alex and found that he was missing," said the relative had said, adding that police was called after that.

Local police have registered a case of unnatural death and investigation is underway.

Alex was unmarried and worked as an accountant in a private company.

(With IANS inputs)