Australia player with zero World Cup minutes 'doesn't know' where the shirt from Lionel Messi's 1000th game is
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The Australia player who received Lionel Messi's shirt following his 1000th career game doesn't know where it is.
Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the World Cup round of 16 earlier this month, with Messi opening the scoring with a lovely effort in the first half.
It was a landmark occasion for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, who would go on to win the tournament on the fifth attempt.
Several Socceroo players were keen to get their hands on Messi's shirt after exceeding expectations at the competition. Graham Arnold's men managed to advance from Group D ahead of Denmark and Tunisia despite being tipped to come bottom.
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The lucky recipient of Messi's shirt was Hearts midfielder, Cameron Devlin. He didn't play a single minute at the tournament yet managed to come away from it with a valuable prize.
Devlin brought the shirt home from Qatar and left what happens to it to his family. The problem is, he's unsure exactly what they've done with it.
He told Sky Sports: "The jersey is locked up in a bank back home, so I don’t even know where it is to be honest – my family took care of that and I have no idea where it is.
"I think it is best that way. In the years to come, it’s a cool memento to have, definitely, but at the moment it’s in the bank."
The 24-year-old had a perfect view of Messi's opening goal, which saw him drift inside to curl past Mat Ryan with his left foot.
When asked about being the one who got Messi's shirt, Devlin replied: "Super strange. I was down the side of the pitch when he scored his goal and I was obviously gutted, but to see him score that goal – it was such a Lionel Messi goal, we’ve seen it so many times – and to see it live…"
Argentina defeated the Netherlands, Croatia and France to win their third World Cup.
Messi admitted before the tournament this would be his final one as a player. It's not the end of his international career yet, however.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar said he wants to represent La Albiceleste 'as a champion'.
He told reporters: "I am not retiring from the national team. I want to continue playing as a champion."
Argentina are the current Copa America holders after defeating Brazil in 2021.
Should Messi want to play in the next instalment of the Copa America, he'll have to wait until 2024. By that time, he'll have celebrated his 37th birthday.
Featured Image Credit: @cammydevlin/Instagram
Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Australia, Football World Cup
