Cash kept prized Messi & Mbappe shirts in hotel safe & will carry them back from 2022 World Cup as hand luggage

• Villa star in action at 2022 World Cup
• Faced Argentina and France
• Taking no chances with iconic jerseys

WHAT HAPPENED? The Aston Villa full-back formed part of Poland’s squad at the 2022 World Cup, helping them to reach the last-16 before coming unstuck against a star-studded France side. He faced a couple of iconic figures along the way, with Messi’s jersey secured in the group stage – with a little assistance from club colleague Emi Martinez – before landing Mbappe’s shirt in the knockout rounds.

WHAT THEY SAID: Cash has made every effort to ensure that prized possessions do not get lost, with the 25-year-old telling talkSPORT: “From Qatar to Dubai I made sure those shirts were right with me. I put them in the safe in the hotel room as well. It will be going on the hand luggage with me!”

He added: "Playing against those sorts of players is really good and those sorts of teams as well. Played against Argentina, France and Mexico, they are fantastic sides. For me, personally, I have gained so much experience and it has been a different learning curve in the last couple of weeks. I’m sure when I get back to Villa it will benefit me massively. Now I’ve played against those top players, I’m looking forward to playing against even more top players week-in, week-out in the Premier League.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Slough-born Cash qualifies to play for Poland through his mother and grandparents and has now taken in 11 appearances for his adopted nation.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT? With his World Cup campaign having come to a close, and a couple of notable mementos safely trucked away, Cash is now preparing to resume Premier League competition with Villa when they play host to Liverpool on Boxing Day.