Argentinian football star Lionel Messi confirmed in an interview with American network ESPN that he will not seek to win a second gold medal at the summer Olympics in Paris. Messi stated, "I spoke with (Argentinian Olympic team coach Javier) Mascherano, and we immediately agreed on the situation," adding, "It’s a tough moment because there’s also the Copa America competition, which means I would be away from the club for two or three consecutive months (Inter Miami). At my age, I don’t want to go through everything, and I need to make the right choices."
Argentina is relying on Messi, who will celebrate his 37th birthday on June 24, to defend its title in the Copa America, scheduled from June 20 to July 14 in the United States, one week before the Olympics kick off from July 26 to August 11. Messi was part of the Argentinian Olympic team that won gold in football at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
While Messi will not participate in this year’s Olympics, he has not closed the door on playing in the next World Cup, set for 2026 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In that case, he would become the player with the most World Cup appearances (six times). Messi emphasized that "it’s great to have record numbers and to continue achieving similar things, but I will not participate in the World Cup just to say I played in six finals." He added, "If I feel good and everything is ready for me to be there, that’s great, but I won’t go just to participate." He continued, "But it's very difficult to imagine what could happen because we still have two years. I don’t need to commit now to say whether I will be there or not."
