Although the Olympic football tournament takes a back seat when compared to the major international tournaments, like the World Cup or European Championship, you may be surprised at some of the household names who have won gold at the Olympics. Who would you include in your top-15 list of Olympic football gold medal winners?
We’ve had a trawl back though the winning teams from 1992 onwards and have picked our top-15 players who have claimed Olympic gold.
Pep Guardiola may be known globally for his management abilities, but not so many people will know he has an Olympic gold medal as part of the Spanish squad that won in Barcelona 1992.
More recently, both Lionel Messi and Neymar have also picked up an Olympic gold medal.
Notable players in men’s Olympic football winning teams
Pep Guardiola
Currently one of the best-known managers worldwide, Guardiola captained the winning Spanish Olympic side in Barcelona 1992. He was crowned the player of the tournament as his team took Olympic gold in front of over 90,000 fans at Camp Nou.
Luis Enrique
The current PSG manager, and the previous manager of the Spanish national team, was also a member of the Spanish side in Barcelona 1992. Enrique was on the scoresheet in Spain’s 4-0 win over Colombia in their opening game.
Jay-Jay Okocha
The Nigerian was in the 1996 winning squad in Atlanta. He made 73 appearances for Nigeria, scoring 14 times. At club level, he moved to PSG in 1998 for a fee of around £14 million, making him the most expensive African player at the time.
Samuel Eto’o
Cameroon made it back-to-back wins for African nations in Sydney 2000 when they claimed gold. The highlight of a glittering career for Samuel Eto’o was scoring 108 goals for Barcelona in a six-year spell in Catalonia between 2004 and 2009.
Javier Mascherano
Mascherano was in Argentina’s squad for successive Olympic titles in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008). After three seasons with Liverpool, he then made over 200 appearances for Barcelona. He is now the manager of the current Argentina Olympic team, and will be seeking his third gold medal.
Carlos Tevez
Tevez won with Argentina in 2004. He was a prolific goalscorer who scored at a rate of around once every other game for three teams during his career: Corinthians, Manchester City and Juventus. His professional career both started and ended with Boca Juniors.
Lionel Messi
The star-studded Argentina team in Beijing won every match, with Lionel Messi securing an Olympic gold medal as part of the winning team. He went on to score 672 goals in his time at Barcelona, has a record eight Ballon d’Or awards and is widely considered the best player to have ever played the beautiful game.
Ángel Di María
Di María scored Argentina’s goal in their 1-0 victory over Nigeria in the 2008 final. Successful spells at Real Madrid and PSG came either side of a disappointing spell at Manchester United in England, during which he admitted that he hadn’t wanted to leave Real.
Sergio Agüero
Agüero was another star in the Argentina side of 2008. He scored 184 goals in 275 appearances for Manchester City, including a last-minute goal in the final match of his debut season to win Manchester City their first top-flight title for 44 years.
Raúl Jiménez
Jiménez was in the Mexican squad for the London Olympics in 2012, although he did not score in the tournament and only played the last few minutes in the final. He currently plays in the EPL for Fulham after a spell with Wolves. At the time, he was relatively unknown, as he was playing for Club América in Mexico
Neymar
Neymar scored four goals to help Brazil win the title in their own country in 2016, including a goal in the final and a decisive penalty in the shootout. He is Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer and, at his peak, was considered one of the best players in the world.
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus, a Palmeiras player at the time, scored twice in Brazil’s semi-final victory in Rio 2016, before securing a move to the Premier League with Manchester City in 2017, with whom he won four Premier League titles. After five years in Manchester, Jesus moved to Arsenal.
Richarlison
The Brazilian was the top scorer in the 2020 Toyko Olympics tournament with five goals, as his side won successive titles. He was playing for Everton at the time, but the enigmatic and inconsistent Brazilian has since moved to Tottenham.
Douglas Luiz
Another high-profile member of the 2020 Brazilian squad was Douglas Luiz. He moved to Manchester City on a five-year contract in 2017, but ended up on loan at Girona, as he was refused a UK work permit. He moved to Aston Villa in 2019 after securing the work permit and had five successful seasons in the EPL. He is now starting a new chapter in his career after moving to Juventus this summer.
Bruno Guimarães
Our third pick from the 2020 winning squad is Bruno Guimarães, although many more players could have been included. Guimarães got his first big break with a move to Lyon in Ligue 1 in 2020, before moving to his current side, Newcastle, for a fee of around €35 million in 2022.
Players to watch in the 2024 Olympic men’s football
Which players will we be able to add to this star-studded list after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics? At the time of writing only a handful of squads have been announced. Watch for updates on the players to watch once further squad announcements are made.
Michael Olise
Many were surprised he wasn’t included in the French senior squad for the Euros after a superb season with Crystal Palace, in which he scored 10 goals and had six assists in just 19 matches. With a move to Bayern Munich for next season now completed, Olise is a superstar in the making.
Fermín López
The Barcelona youngster was included in the Spanish squad for both the Euros and Olympics. He played the last 30 minutes against Albania in the group stage of the Euros. In his first season as a Barcelona first-team player, he made 31 appearances and scored eight goals.
Pau Cubarsí
Still only 17-years of age, the Spaniard has already played 19 times for the Barcelona first team. Although he was named in the preliminary Spanish squad for the Euros, he did not make the final cut. However, the 6ft centre-back surely has a bright future ahead of him.
Claudio Echeverri
He only played six senior games for River Plate in his home country of Argentina and had a release clause worth a reported €25 million added to a contract he signed at 16. He signed for Manchester City in January 2024 but was immediately loaned back to River Plate for a further year. Will he get a chance to make his City debut in the forthcoming season?
Tyler Bindon
Not many will have heard of Tyler Bindon outside of New Zealand and Reading, but the 19-year-old had a strong first season in professional football with the struggling League One side, after moving from the Los Angeles FC academy. He played 44 games at centre-back and was second in their player-of-the-season award. This is a player with a very bright future ahead of him.
Eliesse Ben Seghir
The 19-year-old has already completed two seasons in the Monaco first team and has represented France at youth levels (from U17 to U19). In 2024, he elected to represent Morocco and has since made four appearances for their first team. Can the attacking midfielder shine for Morocco in these Olympics?
Enso González
The Paraguayan only played 32 games for Libertad in the Primera División. That was enough to earn the skilful winger a move to the EPL, where he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a five-year deal in 2023. He has made a solitary senior appearance for Wolves to date, in which he came on as a last-minute substitute last season.
Lesley Ugochukwu
The French midfielder signed for Chelsea from Rennes in 2023 for a reported fee of up to €23 million. He was blighted by injury problems during his first season in the EPL, and Ugochukwu managed just 12 appearances. He will be looking to give the new Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, an early taste of what he can bring to the Cheslea side for the forthcoming season.
Have a read of our other sports betting guides, including Paris 2024 Olympic Football: Predictions and Odds.
