Messi-Mbappé? Paris 2024 Olympic Games are excited about the second round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup final

The stars are aligning for another bout between Lionel Messi AND Kylian Mbappe on a global stage following its epic finale in Qatar 2022 World Cup. The men’s football tournament Paris 2024 Olympic Games It begins on July 24 and Argentina has just joined host country France in the 16-nation cast. Thus, after Javier Mascherano’s Under 23 team secured their Olympic ticket on Sunday, winning against Brazil, two-time reigning champions, attention immediately focused on the possibility that the star from Rosario could compete for the second medal of ‘gold.

“A player like him has the doors open to join us”began the Argentine coach, a man very close to Messi and teammate of the team that won the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “It will depend on him and his commitments, obviously.”

Mascherano revealed that Messi called him to congratulate the team that played the pre-Olympic championship in Venezuela: “He congratulated us, he was very happy”. We all know that Leo is a big fan of the national team and follows all the youth teams. Very happy (to nominate him for Paris 2024),” he added.

Mbappé, for his part, has said several times that he wants to represent France at the Games to be held in his country. The men’s football final will be played on August 9 at the Parque de los Príncipes, the club’s stadium Paris Saint Germain.

Mbappé and Messi were PSG teammates when they attended the World Cup in Qatar and celebrated at the Lusail Stadium in perhaps the best final in history, which ended with Argentina lifting the trophy.

Messi scored two goals and Mbappé three in a thrilling 3-3 draw, with France going back to extra time and then to penalties which Argentina won thanks to saves from Emiliano Dibu Martínez and a late success from Gonzalo Montiel.

“I want to write my name in the history of the French team as the player who made the difference. For every athlete, the Olympic Games hold a special place,” the French star told GQ magazine.

The obstacles for Messi and Mbappé

But the matter is not as simple as in the case of the expression of the wish of a star who wants to go to the Olympic tournament which will take place at the end of July and beginning of August.

FIFA regulations state that each Olympic team can field three players over the age of 23 for the men’s tournament. There are no age limits for women.

The complicated thing is that the players’ clubs – Messi’s Inter Miami and Mbappé’s PSG (for now) – They are not forced to give it up for the Olympic Games because the tournament does not fall within the international calendar that dictates when clubs must release players to their national teams.

Furthermore, Messi and Mbappé will be involved with their respective national teams in very important competitions a few weeks earlier. Argentina will defend the title America’s Cup which will be played in the United States and France has the European Cup in Germany. Both finals will take place on July 14, just 10 days before the opening of the football Olympics, with Les Bleus at home in Marseille.

Play a continental tournament, followed by the Olympic Games, involves great physical effortespecially for players from European clubs.

The Neymar case and Guardiola’s wink for Messi

In 2016, Neymar —Messi’s then teammate at Barcelona— was supposed to fly host Brazil in their bid for gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Neymar skipped the special edition of the Copa América later that year to captain the team who won gold at the Maracaná Stadium. He scored the 1-1 goal in the final against Germany and then scored the decisive shot in the penalty shootout.

Messi also has his own particular history with Barcelona and the Olympics, something that led to a legal dispute before the 2008 event. The Catalan club won the case before the Court of Arbitration for Sportaccompanied by two other clubs, relying on FIFA regulations that give them the right to veto the call-up of players like Messi, then 21, to go to the Olympic Games.

However, Barcelona’s newly appointed coach accepted his rising star’s wish to skip part of the pre-season and Champions League qualifying phase to spend three weeks in China. That technician, no less Pep Guardiola, he was right with his decision. Messi returned with a gold medal and ended up lighting up a Barcelona team that completed a treble of the Champions League, Spanish League and Copa del Rey.

Mbappé’s employment situation for July is uncertain. His contract with PSG expires in June and he has always been in the sights of Real Madrid.

Real Madrid’s desire to sign a 25-year-old star could mean giving in to Mbappé’s demand to be at the Olympics, even if his arrival at the club is postponed until after the start of the season in Spain.

The French Olympic team is led by Thierry Henry, one of the members of the team that won the 1998 World Cup. Henry still doesn’t know who he can call up for a tournament that will also include Spain, Ukraine, the United States and Israel. “If they asked me, I would be happy to go. But if that doesn’t happen, I will understand.”Mbappé said in the same interview.

The dilemma of the three greatest: Messi and who two others?

If Messi finally decides to go to Paris 2024 – he never said yes, but he didn’t say no either -, Mascherano will have two more over 23s to call up, as happened with Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Heinze and Cristian Kily González at Athens 2004 and the couple Nicolás, Juan Román Riquelme and Mascherano himself in Beijing 2008. Ángel Di María is another who seemed strong and also received the praise of Jefecito, but in recent days he announced that his last appointment with the national team will be in the Cup America.

So, among the most experienced, those who appear as options to add experience to the squad would be a goalkeeper (Emiliano Dibu Martínez?), a defender (Nicolás Otamendi or Cristian Cuti Romero?) and a goalscorer (Julián Álvarez?). It must be taken into account that in the menu of players under 23 years of age Enzo Fernández is among Qater’s world champions. And that they could be cited without resorting to the exception. Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton), Nico Paz (Real Madrid), Matías Soulé (Frosinone), Carlos Alcaraz (Juventus), Alan Varela (Porto), Lucas Beltrán (Fiorentina), Alejo Vélez (Sevilla) and Luka Romero (Almeria).