Paris 2024 Olympics: Messi? Pulisic? Mbappe? Could any major stars be playing at Games?

This summer will not be a quiet one. Not only is the men’s European Championship taking place in Germany but the Copa America is also happening in the United States at the same time.

Both finals will be played on July 15. But the summer tournaments do not end there as, nine days later, the Olympic men’s football tournament will get underway in France. That does not leave a lot of time between tournaments and for those hoping to perform at two major competitions in a single summer.

There are 16 nations who will do battle for Olympic gold, silver and bronze. Among them are France, Argentina and Egypt. But will we be seeing superstars Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah at the Olympic Games?

Each team can name three players over the age of 23 to their 22-player squads — the rest have to be 23 or younger. So which household names will be going for gold?

France

Let’s start with host nation France. They begin their golden quest on home soil in Marseille against the United States. This will be the opening game of the tournament.

The biggest question surrounding Kylian Mbappe is not about the club he will play for next season — which is surprising, given he has confirmed he is leaving Paris Saint-Germain but not his destination. However, Mbappe has long been tipped to join Real Madrid once his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires at the end of June. The more pertinent question is whether Mbappe will become an Olympian in the year his home city hosts the event.

Speaking in 2021, Mbappe said every athlete wants to compete at the Olympics and referred to the tournament as the “Holy Grail”.

Giroud and Griezmann could be among the overage selections for France (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Madrid, though, will not release their players to feature in the tournament. FIFA’s rulebook states clubs must release players for the European Championship but not the Olympics. Should Mbappe join Madrid before then, it will be interesting to see whether France’s poster boy is allowed to play.

Talk earlier in the year was that Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud could be the two overage players in the squad alongside Mbappe. Griezmann in March said he will do everything to be there. Meanwhile, Giroud has told L’Equipe this summer’s Euros will be his last tournament with France in order to make way for the next generation — although it is unclear whether that included playing for manager Thierry Henry at the Olympics.

The brilliance of Kylian Mbappe

Argentina

From one World Cup-winning legend to another.

Lionel Messi taking part in the Olympics in Paris, where he lived for two years while at PSG, would be box office. But can he do it?

Messi, who turns 37 in June, will captain Argentina earlier in the summer as they pursue what would be a record 16th Copa America title. Should they go the distance, the turnaround time would be nine days until the start of the Olympics, when Argentina take on Morocco. And let’s face it — the magical, mystical Messi is not getting younger.

The Inter Miami captain has already achieved Olympic glory at the 2008 games in Beijing alongside current under-23s head coach Javier Mascherano, who also won gold as a player in 2004. Mascherano will surely be keen on linking up with his former team-mate but Inter Miami will have a decision to make if a Messi request comes their way. Both the Copa and the Olympics are happening right in the middle of the Major League Soccer season.

Mascherano recently said the door is open for Messi to play in the Olympics. And while we know it would be a huge deal for him to be there, no decision has yet been made on whether he will take up any potential invitation.

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was 23 at the start of the season, so can be selected by Mascherano as part of the under-23s side. Whether or not he has the green light to play from his club is not yet known. He is a key player for Chelsea. Will they really want him to hardly have a rest this summer?

Julian Alvarez could be on show, with Manchester City open to him playing.

How to follow Euro 2024 and Copa America on The Athletic…

Spain

The big debate in Spain is whether Barcelona’s teen sensations Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi could play at the Euros and Olympics or just one.

Barcelona’s sporting director Deco has stated he does not approve of players being at both tournaments. This could therefore limit the opportunity not only for Yamal and Cubarsi but Gavi and Pedri too.

Gavi will not return to full fitness from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last year in time to play in Germany but should he be fit in time for the Olympics a month later. This will raise the question as to whether he may or may not be called up.

Yamal could be in the Spain squad (Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)

Barcelona, though, are surely unlikely to make the same mistake as previous summers. In 2021 they allowed Pedri to play at the Olympics after he had featured six times for Spain as they reached the semi-finals of the Euros. Pedri then played every game as Spain reached the final in Tokyo, which they lost to Brazil. Shortly after, Pedri picked up a hamstring injury which kept him out of the majority of the 2021-22 season.

A fun name in the frame is Sergio Ramos. Could he captain Spain again and be the experienced figurehead in France? Now aged 38, Ramos was left out of both tournaments in 2021, and it is looking like history will repeat itself.

United States

It is looking unlikely Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams will represent the U.S. at the Olympics this summer. A home Copa America is the sole focus.

Under-23s boss Marko Mitrovic named a provisional squad of 22 players for warm-up games in March. He named a young team and any overage players who do get the Olympic call are more likely to be among those senior players who missed the Copa cut.

Egypt

Mohamed Salah missed the Olympics three years ago. It has been non-stop over the last few years for the Liverpool winger. Salah has barely had a proper rest. Will his workload be upped in July by Olympic games selection or will he be on pre-season with Liverpool?

It is currently unclear whether Salah will be among the Egyptian team travelling to Nantes for an opening game against the Dominican Republic.

Head coach Rogerio Micale wants Salah to play at the Games. Egypt fans will surely want Salah there too. Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the U.S. will commence around the same time, though, and the club could block Salah’s participation — just as they did in 2021.

This will be one of Arne Slot’s key decisions when he officially takes over from Jurgen Klopp in June.

(Top photos: Getty Images)