SCOTLAND star Scott McTominay has met with the pope after he led Napoli to victory to win the Serie A title.
Pope Leo welcomed Italy's newly crowned Serie A champions to the Vatican on Tuesday, where he joked about his own football allegiances.
Napoli beat Cagliari 2-0 at home on Friday, with McTominay – who has been named player of the season after switching from Manchester United to Napoli – scoring the first goal.
McTominay and the rest of the Napoli team met with the pope in the Vatican on Tuesday, one day after an open-top bus parade through the centre of Naples.
He said: "It was incredible to be honest seeing everything, and the pope was just, it was incredible.
"So we're so, so grateful and thankful for his wonderful words about the team and Naples and yeah, we're so happy.
"We said hello and obviously respected being in his presence and he just thanked us for being the champions of Italy, which was incredible to hear that.
"He's such an iconic man. So for us to meet the pope was just incredible."
According to a transcript, the pope told the team: "The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true."
He also spoke of the importance of team spirit, adding: "The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club."
