Marco Tilio was once criticised for fanboying over Lionel Messi - but let his critics hear it by calling out their "bulls***" as he got ready for a match.
Tilio was named in the A-League team of the year last season having netted ten goals to fire Melbourne City to the A-League Premiership, though they lost out in the finals. That earned him a move to Celtic where he is expected to step in for Brendan Rodgers and replace Jota who looks on his way to Saudi Arabia.
Tilio has seven caps for Australia and was picked to go to the Qatar World Cup in the winter, although didn't play. He was in the squad that made it through to the round of 16 and took on eventual champions Argentina and was one of a number of Aussie stars - including Cammy Devlin and Jason Cummings - who posed for a picture with Lionel Messi after the game.
Some in Australia took that the wrong way and criticised Tilio for 'fanboying' over a rival player after a defeat. But Tilio was mic'd up before one of Melbourne's games weeks later and interviewed during his warmup - one of the more curious quirks of Australian football.
But there was nothing innocuous about his response when asked what he thought about the critics. He responded: “I think it’s a load of bulls*** to be honest. We played the game and I think it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a photo with my biggest idol.”
You can hear what Tilio had to say in the video above.
