He trumped his teammates by getting Lionel Messi's shirt, now Cam Devlin is looking forward to winning on-field battles against some of his fellow Socceroos.
While some of the Socceroos posted selfies with Messi following their 2-1 World Cup loss to Argentina, Devlin, who did not play a single minute of the tournament, went one better by swapping jerseys with the superstar.
"I went on [to the pitch] and consoled all the boys first and then shook Messi's hand," Devlin said at Sydney Airport on Monday evening.
"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 wanted] one of the other boys to have the opportunity first, but no-one took it, so I thought why not?"
Devlin said getting Messi's shirt for the Argentinian's 1,000th game was special but he had no illusions the universally lauded star would hold his jersey in the same esteem.
"I don't know if it will be on his wall at home or maybe still on the ground in that changing room but I'm not fussed — it's more that I got his," Devlin said.
"I was surprised he even took mine.
"He definitely wouldn't know who I am, but he's a nice enough bloke and a humble enough bloke to still show that respect, and that's obviously super nice, but I wasn't too worried about what my jersey was doing at that stage."
Devlin did not have the shirt on him when he arrived in Sydney on Monday, saying it was with his father.
Asked if he could guarantee he would never sell Messi's shirt, Devlin said: "The jersey is going to be at my home and my dad has got it."
"I don't think he'll let me touch it anymore," he said.
Devlin is one of seven members of the Socceroos World Cup squad attached to Scottish clubs.
"That's the best part, I think; [competing against] your mates and coming up against someone like Keanu [Baccus] in the new year will be super cool," said Devlin, who plays for Hearts.
"We've grown up together and played against each other on the other side of the world.
"Kicking each other will be good fun."
The tenacious midfielder said there was plenty of on-field banter between the Scotland-based Aussies.
"If anyone has seen me play, you know that's how I play the game," he said.
"I like to play with a smile on my face and throw a bit of chat around.
"I think [St Johnstone's] Ryan McGowan is a big one, me and him. He played centre midfield against us and we were just going at each other all game."
AAP
