Lionel Messi explained why he had to decline the offer of representing his country at the Olympics for a second time after Javier Mascherano invited him for a reunion in Paris
Dan Burnham Senior Sports Reporter/Content Editor
02:00, 25 Jul 2024Updated 05:00, 25 Jul 2024
Lionel Messi turned down an invite from former team-mate Javier Mascherano to compete at one last Olympic Games.
The football icon has done it all in his decorated career, including winning the gold medal with Argentina back in 2008. Then just 21, he qualified for their under-23 squad in Beijing, while Mascherano was one of their three overaged players.
Fast forward 16 years, Paris would most likely be Messi's final chance at another shot at Games glory, now aged 37. Argentina youth team coach Mascherano offered him that opportunity.
But he ultimately decided it would be adding too much to his schedule, confirming his disappointing decision in June. "I talked to Mascherano and the truth is we both understood the situation," Messi said.
READ MORE: Why Olympics football begins two days before the opening ceremony in ParisREAD MORE: Eight football superstars who won medals at Olympics - from Lionel Messi to Pep Guardiola"It's hard [to think about the Olympics right now] because we're in Copa America. It would be two, three straight months of not being with the club, and more than anything I'm not at an age to be in everything.
"I have to choose carefully, and it would be too much to play two straight tournaments. I've been very lucky to play in the Olympics, of winning it together with Masche. It was a wonderful experience on a football level. Olympics, U20, memories I'll never forget.
"It's spectacular to be fortunate enough to go through all that. I hope that the guys who get to go enjoy it in the same way that I did because it's special. The Olympics are special, different from anything else."
His decision to focus solely on the Copa America paid off, as he led his nation to a successful defence of their continental crown earlier this month. Messi would also have risked the wrath of Inter Miami manager Gerardo Martino, who warned his players they must choose between one tournament or the other.
"I am pro national team, but in this case that there are two competitions [Copa America and Olympics] close together, and that implies that a player is away for more than two months," Martino said in February.
Miami have been managing just fine in Messi's absence, though, winning six of their last seven games to move to the top of the MLS Eastern Conference standings. Mascherano, meanwhile, will still go for gold with four of Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning squad - goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi, midfielder Thiago Almada and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez.