Lionel Messi has finally confirmed whether he’ll play at this summer’s Olympic Games with Argentina after speaking with Javier Mascherano.
The Inter Miami captain had been rumored as a potential option for Argentina’s Olympic squad, even with Messi competing in this summer’s Copa America with La Albiceleste’s senior squad.
Having announced that Inter Miami will be the final club of his career, Messi playing at the Olympics would mean being away from the Herons for the best part of a month, with the Games in Paris starting in late July.
And Messi has now announced if he will take part or not in the Olympics.
Messi rules out Olympic participation with focus on Inter Miami after the Copa America
Speaking to ESPN, Messi shared that he won’t take part in the Olympics this summer after speaking with U-23 manager and former FC Barcelona teammate Mascherano, with the Argentine admitting that he doesn’t want to be absent from Inter Miami for too long.
Mesis said: “I talked to Mascherano and the truth is we both understood the situation 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, U-20, 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.”
Messi has made the right call to not participate in France
Given how little time Messi now has in his career, the forward prioritizing the major international competitions and Inter Miami is the right way for the Argentine to spend his last years as a professional.
And whilst the Olympics would have been a fantastic tournament to take part in, Messi knows that the games this summer in France are not as important as a Copa America or Inter Miami’s late-summer fixtures.
As a result, Messi missing out on the Olympics is the right decision from the Argentine, who seems keen to return to Inter Miami later this summer and to show his best yet again in MLS.