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Socceroos young gun Cameron Devlin may not have played a single minute at the World Cup, stuck behind the likes of Aaron Mooy and Jackson Irvine in the midfield pecking order, but he will leave Qatar with a stunning souvenir.
When the Socceroos faced Argentina in their historic Round of 16 clash, all-time great Lionel Messi was making history of his own – playing his 1,000th professional match for club and country.
His first-half goal was the 789th of his sterling career so far, heartbreaking as it was for Socceroos fans.
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But in the aftermath of the gutting defeat to Argentina, Devlin managed to get man-of-the-match Messi’s milestone jersey – despite the Australian only having a crisp and un-worn match jersey to offer in exchange for a strip that is truly a collector’s dream.
Devlin wasn’t the only one to share a touching moment with the Argentine legend.
The young trio of Marco Tilio, Keanu Baccus, and Joel King all approached Messi in the tunnels to get photos with the superstar, which they shared on social media.
Baccus – who flattened Messi in the first five minutes with a crunching whack – couldn’t hide his smile.
Tilio wrote: “To be apart of something so special and to have learnt so much. To then meeting my idol growing up and the best player in the world. I’m so grateful and feel blessed.
“Thank you Australia, what an experience.”
Injured star Martin Boyle also snapped a pic with the diminutive genius.
