“Leo and Angel earned the chance to choose” - Javier Mascherano suggests Lionel Messi and Di Maria should play Olympic Games
Former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano is open to the idea of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria representing Argentina in the Paris Olympic Games.
Mascherano was appointed as the coach of the Argentina U-20 national team back in December 2021 and took over in January 2022. He has now given his take on the possible team Argentina can field in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
National teams are asked to field U-23 sides in the Olympic Games and can choose a maximum of two senior players in the squad if they wish to. With the names of Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria floating up in that regard, Mascherano has now given his take on the situation.
He said (via ESPN):
"Leo and Ángel earned the chance to choose; if they want to play in the Olympic Games they can do so. I understand that Ángel said that their closing is with the Copa América , although it would also be a nice closing in the Games."
The former Barcelona stalwart also added that national team coach Lionel Scaloni should take over the Olympic team as head coach, owing to his great success with the senior team, which includes a triumphant 2022 FIFA World Cup outing.
Mascherano played as a defensive midfielder for Liverpool before being converted into a centre-back at Barcelona. He played 139 games for the Reds and represented Barca in 334 matches.
Lionel Messi won the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player award
Messi was recently awarded the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player trophy, ahead of Erling Haaland (second) and Kylian Mbappe (third). The Argentine attacker had a storied 2022-23 season.
He registered 21 goals and 20 assists in 41 games across competitions for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), helping them lift the Ligue 1 trophy. Messi's crowning moment came when he led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December 2022.
He registered seven goals and three assists in seven games in the prestigious tournament, where he also won the Golden Ball for his individual performance.