Messi snubs Socceroos young gun Robertson as he tries to get Argentine's jersey

You can't blame a bloke for trying, but Socceroos star Alex Robertson was left empty handed when he tried to grab the prize souvenir of Lionel Messi's game-worn jersey following Thursday night's friendly in Beijing.

The Socceroos were brave in defeat at the World Cup when faced with eventual champions Argentina and put up another strong showing in the friendly against Messi and his men as they recovered after going 1-0 down in just the second minute.

Manchester City rising star Robertson, 20, got valuable game time and tried his hand at getting an even bigger prize afterward.

Throughout his illustrious career, Messi achieved numerous records and accolades, including winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or award a record-breaking seven times and leading Argentina to the World Cup trophy in Qatar in 2022.

He spent the majority of his career at FC Barcelona, where he won multiple domestic and international titles before sensationally moving to David Beckham's Inter Miami in the United States' MLS competition.

So Robertson used his opportunity to try to get Messi's game-worn jersey.

The Socceroos talent touched Messi's back and tugged at his top to get his attention, but the superstar was having none of it as he brushed Robertson completely.

While Robertson missed out on obtaining Messi's game-worn jersey last night, two Australian players managed to secure it at last year's World Cup.

Although Cameron Devlin didn't get to play in any matches during the tournament, the midfielder left the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium with Lionel Messi's shirt after Australia's 2-1 loss to Argentina.

A video shared on Twitter captured Messi heading towards the dressing room after receiving the Player of the Match award.

He stopped and had a brief conversation with someone off-camera before removing his shirt. The camera then focused on Devlin, who shook hands with the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner and handed him his own folded match shirt.

Devlin swiftly tucked Messi's shirt under his training top, while Messi did the same with Devlin's gear.

In addition to Devlin, Socceroos striker Mitchell Duke also received a priceless Messi jersey as a memento following Australia's courageous defeat in Qatar.

After consuming seven water bottles to provide a urine sample, Duke returned to the Australian dressing room and found a special gift lying on top of his bag: the coveted jersey, courtesy of the Argentine kit man.

Some Socceroos fans suggested that Robertson was just trying to get a simple handshake from the Argentina star after the Beijing clash.

'I honestly think he was just trying to shake his hand,' one posted.

'Yeah definitely looked like he wanted a hand shake... haha poor guy,' added another.

While he didn't get away with Messi's jersey or a handshake, it was still a watershed night for Robertson, who was also eligible to represent England, Peru and Scotland.

The teenage prodigy chose the Socceroos and was injected into the huge match late in the piece.

'There was only really going to be one team I was going to play for: Australia,' he said in March.

'I have played for England since I was young … it was a really good experience. But Australia is my home and has been since I was young. There was only one answer there.'