Players are usually falling over themselves to swap shirts with Lionel Messi after playing against the Argentina legend.

St Mirren defender Richard King faced the great man twice earlier this year - but had no interest in picking up a Messi memento.

King's former club, the Jamaican league winners Cavalier, played Inter Miami in the last 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup in the spring but lost both legs 2-0.

"That was really nice, you know, Messi, [Luis] Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, some big names, some legends, that was a good game," King, 23, said.

"I didn't get any shirts. I didn't want them, to be honest, because we could have won. I was kind of vexed.

"With Messi and all the stuff you see on TV, how he plays, how he moves on the pitch, it's the same and it's really difficult to get near him."

A few months after meeting Messi in Miami, King was on his way to play in Paisley despite links with clubs around the world.

"I'd had the chance to sign him before that," Buddies manager Stephen Robinson said.

"But we were in a little bit of a sticky run around about Christmas time, and we decided to just keep monitoring the situation. We were very lucky because I believe there was a large bid turned down from an MLS club in January last year.

"We managed to get him for buttons further down the line. We believe we've got a real, real find, a really top talent."

Robinson believes that as well as making his mark in the Premiership, the composed defender could cut a dash on the world stage next year.

"There's a good chance he'll probably end up going to the World Cup as well with Jamaica. They've had a fantastic run under Steve McClaren. We hope that he will continue progressing," said Robinson.

Playing at the finals in North America 2026 is a big motivation for King, who has become a regular for Jamaica under McClaren.

"We're in the final group stages of qualifying and we've won our first two games, so it's a good start to the campaign," King added.

"We win our next two games, we'll be heading to the World Cup for sure.

"Playing there is a really big incentive. It would be the second World Cup finals in our history, the first one was in 1998, so it will be really massive for our country as well."

St Mirren: Richard King 'too vexed' to take Lionel Messi's shirt