Don’t fear, folks, Spain and Argentina’s respective crownings at Euro 2024 and the Copa America will not bring this summer feast of international action to an end.
There’s yet more to tuck into before the 2024/25 domestic season gets underway across Europe.
The Paris Olympics are right around the corner and there’s one final chance for nations across the globe to enjoy perhaps the most lucrative of successes in the form of a gold medal.
Lionel Messi, Neymar, Samuel Eto’o, Angel Di Maria and Pep Guardiola are among those to forge immense legacies having tasted early glory with their countries at the Olympics. Another opportunity awaits 16 competing nations in France, although there are a litany of superstars who won’t be competing even for those who have qualified for the event.
Here’s an explanation as to why some of the game’s contemporary greats won’t be playing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Why Kylian Mbappe isn’t competing at the 2024 Olympics
The idea of representing his country at a home Olympics is one that would have appealed to Mbappe and manager Thierry Henry could have used the superstar forward as one of three over-age players he’s able to pick had Mbappe still been playing for Paris Saint-Germain.
However, his move to Real Madrid handed Mbappe no chance of competing at the Olympics this summer. Madrid have every right to prohibit Mbappe from being selected and that’s exactly what they’ve done.
“For the Olympics, my club has a position which is very clear so that means I think I will not participate in the Olympics. That is how it is,” the player said in June. Given the amount of football he’s played over the past 12 months and how close the conclusion of the Olympics is to the start of the 2024/25 season, Florentino Perez was never going to allow his shiny new toy to participate.
“Joining a new team in September would not be the best way to begin my adventure,” the 25-year-old added.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t competing at the 2024 Olympics
There’s a pretty simple explanation as to why Ronaldo won’t be playing at the Olympics. He’s Portuguese and Portugal have not qualified for the event.
Either way, given just how poorly he performed at Euro 2024, it’s unlikely that the veteran superstar would have represented his country in France. He hasn’t played at the Olympics since Athens 2004 when a Portugal side containing the likes of Luis Boa Morte, Raul Meireles and Jose Bosingwa failed to get out of the group stages.
Why Lionel Messi isn’t competing at the 2024 Olympics
Messi has competed just once at the Olympics and, for a while, that gold medal in Beijing was his sole collective achievement with the national team.
He’s since added to his legacy quite drastically in the space of three years, lifting back-to-back Copa America titles and the 2022 World Cup. Messi no longer has anything to prove on the international stage.
There was speculation that the 37-year-old would compete at Paris 2024 given that old chum Javier Mascherano is managing the Argentina team. However, it became clear Messi was not a part of his former teammate’s plans with Inter Miami requesting that the all-time great was not called up for the Olympic squad having already missed a chunk of the MLS season because of the Copa America.
Messi is also currently nursing an ankle sprain.
Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez have been selected as Mascherano’s over-age players.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
