Argentina, Spain and France are all at Olympics 2024 – but why aren't Lionel Messi, Rodri and Kylian Mbappe?
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The 2024 Olympics in Paris has nations like France, Argentina, Spain, USA and Egypt competing in the men's football, but there's plenty different when compared to other major tournaments in the sport.
With a clear age restriction placed on squads, managers are allowed to select a maximum of 18 players. The vast majority of the team have to have been born on or after 1 January 2001, with just three players allowed to subvert that trend.
While there's no obligation to use these overage slots, the majority of nations do in order to add a little more experience to their sides. This ruling in the men's tournament was introduced ahead of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where Nigeria beat Argentina 3-2 in an entertaining final, and have been in place ever since.
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But that still doesn't explain why players such as Lionel Messi, Rodri, Kylian Mbappe or Mohamed Salah are competing at the Olympics. After all, the aforementioned quartet are the best players for their respective nations, and it would therefore make the most sense for them to be used as an overage player.
Why don't famous men's players go to the Olympics?
The simple answer for this, though, is that the management of workloads is of paramount importance.
With Euro 2024 and Copa America also falling this summer, players have opted to compete in those tournaments instead of the Olympics. Messi's club, Inter Miami, wouldn't have allowed their star man to spend over two months away from the MLS season, while Mbappe's new side, Real Madrid, were against the Frenchman competing in his home Games.
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Alvarez is playing for Argentina (Image credit: Getty Images)
Salah, meanwhile, wanted to hit the ground running under new Liverpool manager Arne Slot, relinquishing his spot in the Egypt squad to ensure he is fully ready for the new season at Anfield.
There are still some high-profile names playing, however. Fresh from winning Copa America 2024, Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Otamendi are both playing for Argentina, while Spain duo Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez are riding the crest of a wave at the Olympics after winning Euro 2024.
Salah is in pre-season with Liverpool (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
