Argentine World Cup winner Lionel Messi said he will not be part of the national squad for the Paris Olympics slated to begin in July this year.
The 36-year-old stated that he is no longer at an age where he can play in every tournament and has to pick and choose his workload with care.
The eight-time Balon d’Or winner is currently preparing for Argentina’s Copa America title defence, which runs from June 20 to July 14 in the United States of America.
Messi won the Olympic gold medal with Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, alongside current U-23 coach Javier Mascherano.
With he quadrennial set to get underway in just over a month, the teams are allowed three overage players in their squads and Mascherano handed Messi an invitation to be part of the Olympic squad.
“I talked to Mascherano and the truth is we both understood the situation,” Messi told ESPN.
“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,” the genius from Rosario said.
“I have to choose carefully, and it would be too much to play two straight tournaments,” Messi added.
“I’ve been very lucky to play in the Olympics, of winning it together with Mascherano,” he continued.
“It was a wonderful experience on a football level. Olympics, U20, memories I’ll never forget,” he stated.
Messi led Argentina to the Copa America title before reaching football zenith with the coveted FIFA World Cup title with the Albiceleste’s triumph in Qatar. Messi completed his long-time dream with the title and his standout performance at the FIFA showpiece also propelled him to yet another Balon d’Or.
Messi seems to be enjoying life in the United States of America ever since he made the switch to David Beckham-owned MLS side Inter Miami following a rather uneasy tenure at Ligue 1 side PSG.
Argentina begin the defence of their Copa America title with their opener against Canada on the 21st of June, before taking on Chile and Peru in their other two group games.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
