Scott McTominay has conquered Serie A and met the Pope. It's been some week

New York Times

28-05-2025

There he is, a man who has recently risen from relative obscurity to one of the most revered figures in Italy, who came from abroad and is viewed by some as just a step below the Almighty himself.
And as you can see, he met the Pope this week too.
Yes, it's been some week for Scott McTominay. On Friday, he won the Serie A title with Napoli, scoring the first goal in the decisive game against Cagliari, a brilliant sidewinder scissor kick that set Antonio Conte's side on their way to the 2-0 win that clinched it.
Then shortly after the final whistle, as the crowd were screaming his name and the trophy was being lifted, he was named as Serie A's most valuable player.
A post shared by SM 🩵⚽️ (@scottmctominay)
And in the intervening few days, he's been, well, celebrating all of the above. With some gusto.
It started straight after the game. He, and half of the Napoli team, emerged for the trophy presentation with sprayed blue hair. His whole family were there — his partner Cam Reading, his parents, his brothers — to enjoy the moment with him.
Not long after the final whistle, Billy Gilmour posted a picture of the two of them with the Serie A trophy: the Scottish-Neapolitan version of the Paul Rudd 'Hey, look at us' meme.
It's a whole new world for Don McTominay at Napoli 🚬😎pic.twitter.com/X2RLqRFuiH
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) May 27, 2025
He then seemed to spend the weekend conducting a thorough audit of the Naples nightlife.
There he was, in a nightclub in the city's Bagnoli district with team-mate Philip Billing, bopping along to Italian hip-hop.
There he was, in another club with Gilmour, holding the trophy between them, cigar clasped between his teeth.
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There he was, dancing with his partner to Pump Up The Jam.
There he was, seemingly in another night spot still, dancing with an old boy who looked like he would've been McTominay's age when Diego Maradona was Napoli's hero.
There he was, in the daytime now, sampling a giant cake baked to mark the title victory.
On Monday, there was an open-top bus tour around Naples. McTominay was right at the front of the top deck, a scarf tied around his head, directing proceedings. He was seemingly ignoring the sage adage that you should never mix your drinks. There was Tennent's lager. There was a bottle of what appeared to be Famous Grouse whiskey, thrown up to him by a well-wisher. And there was the champagne, poured down his throat by team-mate Matteo Politano.
📸 – Scott McTominay on IG : Napoli fans 🩵 pic.twitter.com/D2inAkg4Q4
— Mctominay Zone (@mctominay_HQ) May 26, 2025
At one point, he moved to the back of the bus and filmed the throng of ecstatic fans following on foot, screaming 'SCOTTO! SCOTTO! SCOTTO!', dancing to Freed From Desire by Gala. He conducted an impromptu interview with his colleague Pasquale Mazzocchi, the man who gave him the 'McFratm' nickname. It roughly translates as 'McBro', and already features on some Napoli fans' celebratory tattoos.
He also appeared to be quite enthusiastically smoking on a variety of occasions: not ideal for a professional athlete, but if you can't indulge in a cheeky tab when you've just won the league, when can you?
On Tuesday, it all culminated, as many long parties do, at the Vatican, when he joined the rest of the Napoli squad to meet Leo XIV. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that, given McTominay's status in Italy at the moment, for Leo XIV to meet him.
It's not everyday you meet Pope Leo after winning the Serie A title! 😅 pic.twitter.com/i2v3FiTsrC
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 28, 2025
Baseball is Il Papa's sport (after his election, it took Chicago news outlets a matter of hours to find footage of Robert Prevost, as he was known back then, nervously watching the White Sox at the 2005 World Series), but he did take the time to reassure the assembled Neapolitans that media reports saying he was a Roma fan were not necessarily true.
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Vatican News grabbed McTominay for a few words, and his demeanour will be familiar to anyone who has met a friend on the far side of a punishing three-day bender. The eyes, shielded by a pair of sunglasses, were heavy. The voice sounded like Sean Dyche after gargling with gravel. He called the Pope 'an iconic man'.
A post shared by Vatican News (@vaticannews)
But the thing is, like much of McTominay's big weekend, it was all authentic. It's a guy who has recognised that he's maybe living the greatest moment of his life, certainly his career so far, and he's grabbing it. It's a guy who, at points last season, couldn't get a game at Manchester United, with Facundo Pellistri and Sofyan Amrabat ahead of him. Now he's meeting the Pope.
If ever anyone has deserved to cut loose, it's McTominay. Here is a player who, for most of his club career, was treated as solid, dependable, the sort of reliable type you would trust with your door keys on a night out, but never ask to choose which club you're going to. The ballast, but never the facade. The bass player, never the lead singer.
A lot was said about McTominay being a Darren Fletcher or a John O'Shea figure, the sort of player who wouldn't be in Manchester United's first-choice team, but a solid 7/10-every-week merchant that a manager could rely upon.
It took Antonio Conte, of all people, with an assist from Scotland manager Steve Clarke, to realise that he was actually a game-changer, a box-crashing midfielder who could score decisive goals, win matches and, as it turns out, league titles.
It was something he touched on when he spoke to The Athletic in April. 'When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,' he said. 'But when you're playing for Manchester United and you're 20, you can't knock on the manager's door and say that you expect to be playing at No 8 ahead of Paul Pogba. It's not realistic. You have to know your place, and do what you're asked to do.'
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He knows his place now. He's been liberated on the pitch and has been expressing that off the pitch now, too. In the aftermath of this success, he might have been justified in telling his critics where to shove their snootiness. But if there is any resentment, then he's taking the attitude that living well is the best revenge.
Keep going, Scott. You've earned this, and not just this season.