Cammy Devlin admits his Lionel Messi prized shirt is 'all locked up' as he labelled his World Cup experience with Australia as 'unreal'.
The midfielder was part of a Hearts trio who landed call-ups by the Socceroos for the Qatar finals with Graham Arnold's men going beyond the group stages before being eliminated by eventual winners Argentina. Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson played starring roles but while Devlin didn't get on the pitch, he walked away with the grand prize.
It was Messi's 1000th appearance top and with the multiple time Ballon d’Or winner now a world champion after arguably the best final ever against France - the top will be worth a real fortune in years to come. But for now, Hearts star Devlin is unaware of the location with his family putting it in a safe place - which he admits is the best thing. Speaking about his Messi shirt, he told Edinburgh Evening News : "It was so, so surreal. It was such a cool moment. I'm surprised none of the other boys asked.
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“Any Messi top you get is special. I actually said this before and got called a liar, but I didn't realise it was his 1000th game. And I'm pretty sure he came out after and said he didn't. So if he didn't then how am I going to? Going into the game I just wanted the boys to win.
“I gave it to my family. They've put it in a bank back home and they won't tell me which bank, which is probably better. So it's all locked up. It's a cool memento to have.
“The boys have been asking for me to wear it to training. But I think it'll just get bashed or torn, or I'll end up walking out topless. But all the boys are just happy for those who played, and I had to walk away with something, didn't I? I couldn't play but had to get a jersey.
"It's every little kid's dream to be at a World Cup. It was unreal.”
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