Devlin reveals how he snapped up Messi top

HEARTS midfielder Cammy Devlin admits “I just tried my luck” after swapping shirts with the legendary Lionel Messi following Australia’s gut- wrenching defeat to Argentina at the World Cup.

Messi netted the opening goal in Argentina’s 2- 1 victory as he marked his 1000th career appearance in style.

Devlin failed to make it off the bench as the Socceroos crashed out of the tournament in the round of 16 and headed home without playing a single minute in his country’s four games in Qatar. But he arrived Down Under with an incredible memento after grasping his opportunity to trade jerseys with PSG superstar Messi.

He said: “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?’”

Meanwhile, Hearts team- mate Kye Rowles has hailed his World Cup learning curve, despite the “bittersweet” ending to Australia’s bid for glory.

The Tynecastle defender formed a formidable partnership with Harry Souttar at the heart of Graham Arnold’s defence and insists he will return to Hearts armed with magical memories and phenomenal lessons after coming up against Messi, France superstar Kylian Mbappe and Christian Eriksen of Denmark over his four games in the Middle East.

The 24- year- old said: “It’s a whole bunch of learning, really, coming up against France, top five team, Argentina, top three, [ and] Denmark, top 10.

“You [ are against] the best players, best teams and you can’t give them a second. If you switch off for any time in the game, you get punished.”