In a press conference, the world runner-up (and 2018 world champion) and global star, Kylian Mbappé, expressed his willingness to attend the upcoming major sporting event in Paris, but clarified, "I want to play, but it's not up to me to decide. If the coach doesn't call me up, I'll accept his decision."

The captain of the French senior national team aims to win the Gold medal, just as his (former teammate) Lionel Messi did in 2008. The difference is that the Argentine achieved it as an Under-23 player in that memorable team led by Batista.

It is worth noting that football teams compete with Under-23 players and only 3 players over the age of 23 in the Olympic event, while the qualifiers are played with Under-23 players only. Many attribute this age limitation to prevent it from becoming a competition with the FIFA World Championships held every four years, avoiding a situation seen in other sports (basketball being a clear example) where the pinnacle of the sport occurs in the Olympic Games rather than the FIBA World Cup.

For others, the limitation is about maintaining the Olympic spirit, amateurism, and, in any case, the spirit of fraternity and competition outside of commercial interests. In a sports world so connected to financial aspects, this argument seems more reminiscent of past eras than the present.

Whether for one reason or another, it is not common for superstars to participate in the Olympic Games as senior reinforcements. Occasionally, stars of the caliber of Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Juan Román Riquelme (Argentina), or Dani Alves (Brazil) have done so, but never a superstar like Mbappé.

This raises the question of whether other superstars will follow suit. Lionel Messi, often considered the greatest player in history, has not ruled out participating, and there are serious rumors that he might. In fact, his move to the United States was conditional on being able to participate in all kinds of tournaments with his national team, although the Argentine team faces challenges in qualifying (having not competed in Tokyo 2020), and there are only two slots for South America (the 8-time Ballon d'Or winner is ineligible for that qualifier due to his age).

If both end up playing in Paris 2024, it could recreate the fascinating final of Qatar 2022 that gave the South Americans their fourth star. The audience would be captivated (especially since Messi himself stated that it is very difficult for him to play in the next World Cup due to his age, making it a potential last major tournament for him). However, could the Olympic spirit be overshadowed by this? I have serious doubts.