But such was Kevin's affection that long after it was over, the green-and-white hooped jersey remained his go-to match day uniform.

It was particularly distinctive as it featured his hero's name, but not the number 17.

Kevin explained: "The reason it doesn't have a number on the back was because he hadn't actually signed yet and so we didn't know his number when I got it."

So when the strip went missing he was gutted.

Having recently moved to Edinburgh, he assumed that someone had helped themselves during a fairly raucous flat-warming party.

While he had suspicions, he could never identify the culprit.

Over time, however, his anger faded and he'd largely forgotten about it when, years later, an email arrived in his inbox from an account he didn't recognise.

It began: "Hi Kevin, remember me? Yes that's right, it's your Ian Wright Celtic strip."

The message continued: "I hope you aren't mad with me but I decided to embark on a journey of discovery."

When Kevin opened the attached photograph it featured a woman he didn't know on the London Eye holding up what appeared to be his Celtic top to the camera.

"I was just mega confused," he says.

"Running through my mind was, who has done this?

"I mean bravo, it's a really good prank.

"But little did I know there were a lot more emails to follow."

A few weeks later another message arrived.

Once again it contained a photo of a complete stranger wearing Kev's prized possession – this time in Barcelona.

After that the emails kept on coming.

"The next one was Turkey, then Italy and then it went all the way to South America," Kevin recalls.

"Christ the Redeemer was one of my favourite ones.

"It made it all the way [to Brazil] and then down to Venezuela and Puerto Rico and then back up to the USA."

Friends since their schooldays, Kris Robertson vividly remembers Kevin's fondness for his Ian Wright Celtic strip.

"He used to wear it all the time. I just remember he was very proud of it. It was his prize possession."

That affection made it the ideal source of payback after Kevin hijacked Kris's emails with the aim of embarrassing him at work.

"It was revenge," says the 48-year-old, smiling.

Revenge that took unlikely inspiration from French cinema.

Part of the plot in the 2001 movie Amelie involves the main character stealing her dad's garden gnome and sending it around the world.

"It was postcards with pictures of all these exotic locations and I thought that's perfect, I've got to do that with his strip."

As the strip racked up the air miles Kris kept drip-feeding the emails to his unsuspecting friend

"At one point I did get an email back [from Kevin] saying I think I've worked out who it is.

"I knew he hadn't and of course I never heard from him again. He was obviously trying to flush me out."

A great prank, however, requires a big reveal. Which, after years of deception, was something Kris agonised over.

"When he announced he was getting married, I thought this is the perfect opportunity."

When the moment arrived Kris says the confused look on Kevin's face was worth it:

"It was really good. I knew he'd appreciate the gag and finally finding out but it was actually a bit of a relief as well. I couldn't keep this going forever."

Kris's mum and dad were among those who helped him build up a bank of photos from around the UK and Europe.

Then in 2008 he took the strip with him to South America where the prank took on a life of its own.

"I met people in Peru and I gave them the strip because they were going off travelling around the world.

"They took it away with them and went to Easter Island with the big stone heads.

They went to Christ the Redeemer in Rio. They got some brilliant photos."

There is, however, a twist – a confession Kris hasn't been brave enough to make until now.

Sometime around 2013 the steady stream of photos he'd been receiving from around the world suddenly stopped.

When he contacted the last person he knew had the strip, they sheepishly confessed to losing it.

"I suppose that's the risk of sending it off around the world with complete strangers."

Kris was determined the prank he'd invested so much time and energy into wouldn't just fizzle out.

So he spent hours scouring the internet for a replacement strip and identical lettering which, in the end, he had to iron on by hand.

"I should apologise yes it was very careless of me to lose [but] a lot of love went back into the replacement."

Which raises the intriguing prospect that more than a quarter of a century on, the original "Wrighty" is out there somewhere, searching for a way home.

This epic tale of love, loss, revenge and reconciliation might still have room for another chapter.