Cammy Devlin has revealed the circumstances which led to Lionel Messi's prized Argentina jersey from his 1000th game coming into his possession.
The Hearts midfielder didn't get on the park for Australia in their World Cup run, which ended with a valiant effort in a 2-1 loss to the PSG man's nation. Messi is viewed as arguably the greatest to play the game and scored an eye-popping 789th goal as he hit the four-figure appearance mark for club and country.
A clutch of Socceroos stars got their photo with him after the game but Devlin seized upon a post-game moment with the elite playmaker. After none of those who featured in the match asked for his jersey, the Hearts battler got the chance to ask for the 35-year-old's shirt, and he was happy to oblige. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald after touching down in his homeland, the midfielder explained: "I made sure Dad had it on his carry-on, not underneath, just in case something happened.
“I went to console all the boys first and then shook Messi’s hand and no one had said anything, so I just tried my luck and he said ‘I’ll see you inside,’ and that’s what happened.”
“I definitely wanted the other boys to have the opportunity first but no one took it, so I thought, ‘why not?’"
Jason Cummings was one of those to meet with Messi and a year on from finding himself in the doldrums at Dundee, said: I can’t really believe that we’ve done it. I’m just over the moon."
READ NEXT
