Ever since the 1992 Olympic Games, the men's football tournament has been largely restricted to players aged 23 or under, albeit with three exceptions permitted for each team.
With such regulations in place, a surfeit of embryonic talents who may be on the periphery of their club or national teams have a platform to shine, and potentially a podium to stand on with either a gold, silver or bronze medal around their necks.
The Olympic Games falling in Copa America and European Championship years causes serious pre-season disruption for top-level clubs, who are not obliged to release players called up for the Games, and many choose not to.
However, some of the globe's top talents past and present have sported their nation's colours at the Olympics, and here, Sports Mole counts down the 10 best male players to ever play at the Games ahead of Paris 2024.
10. Raul (Spain | 1996)
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Only a few months before making his breakthrough for the senior Spain side, legendary striker Raul was a regular starter for La Roja at the 1996 Olympic Games, netting twice in four appearances in Atlanta.
Both of Raul's strikes came in a 3-2 win over Australia, before he also completed the full 90 minutes on the left wing in Spain's quarter-final showdown with Argentina, which ended in a humbling 4-0 defeat.
However, the former Real Madrid man would soon be humbling defences for over a decade, scoring 323 goals for the 15-time European champions in 550 matches, putting him third in Los Blancos' scoring charts behind Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo and top of their appearances list.
9. Romario (Brazil | 1988)
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A ruthless attacker who achieved monumental international success with Brazil, Romario was just 22 years old when he took the 1988 Olympics by storm, scoring an unrivalled seven goals as the Selecao took the silver medal behind the Soviet Union.
Romario struck the opening goal for Brazil in the gold medal match, only for the Soviets to strike back and prevail 2-1 in extra time, but the ex-Barcelona man would subsequently win one World Cup and two Copa America titles with the Selecao.
Romario has since forged a successful political career since retiring - becoming the Senator for Rio de Janeiro in 2015 - and he astonishingly even came out of retirement earlier this year at the age of 58, being registered to play for America in the second tier of a Rio state league.
8. Sergio Aguero (Argentina | 2008)
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Sergio Aguero was already a fully-fledged Argentina international by the time that he was called up for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he was the Albiceleste's first-choice centre-forward throughout the tournament.
Aguero scored two goals and provided one assist at the tournament, all of which came in a semi-final masterclass against Brazil, before completing 79 minutes of Argentina's 1-0 beating of Nigeria in the showpiece event.
The diminutive striker subsequently became one of the best players to ever pull on the Manchester City strip, before having to cut his Barcelona career short and hang up his boots after suffering from cardiac arrhythmia in late 2021.
7. Mohamed Salah (Egypt | 2012)
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Even before setting the Premier League alight with Liverpool, Mohamed Salah had already made his mark on English turf with Egypt at the London 2012 Olympics, scoring in all three group games against Brazil, New Zealand and Belarus.
Salah's hot streak helped Egypt make the quarter-finals, where they were swiftly seen off by Japan, but his performances in London still earned him the CAF Most Promising African Talent accolade.
Salah has since lived up to that potential and then some at Liverpool, and there were suggestions that he could have been included as one of Egypt's three overage players for the Paris 2024 Games, but he ultimately decided to stay on Merseyside.
6. Neymar (Brazil | 2012, 2016)
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A two-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medallist, Neymar had already sent tongues wagging with Santos before arriving for Brazil's London 2012 campaign, where he was responsible for three goals and four assists as the Selecao took the silver behind Mexico.
With a yearning to go one better at his home games in Rio four years later, Neymar went scoreless and assist-less in the group stage before exploding into life in the knockouts, scoring four goals and setting up three more en route to the gold medal.
Neymar captained Brazil to their first-ever Olympic title in men's football despite many suggesting that he was not fit to wear the armband, and he relinquished captaincy duties immediately afterwards.
5. Ronaldinho (Brazil | 2000, 2008)
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Another Brazilian superstar to be selected for two Olympic games - albeit while failing to match Neymar's level of success - Ronaldinho was still based in his homeland with Gremio when he took part in the 2000 Games in Sydney.
The attacker's solitary goal at the tournament was a last-gasp equaliser against Cameroon in the quarter-finals, which took the contest to extra time, only for Brazil to suffer a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat.
Eight years later, Ronaldinho was one of the overage players called up for the Beijing Games, scoring two goals and providing one assist and captaining Brazil to a hard-earned bronze.
4. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary | 1952)
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A man so good they named a goal-of-the-year award after him, Hungary icon Ferenc Puskas became an Olympic gold medallist with his country's Golden Generation at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, scoring four times along the way.
Puskas made the net bulge in both the 6-0 semi-final crushing of Sweden and 2-0 beating of Yugoslavia in the final, in addition to registering an astounding 84 goals in 85 matches for the senior squad, heralded as one of the best footballing nations of their generation.
Puskas was ultimately unable to inspire Hungary to an elusive World Cup crown, despite winning the Golden Ball at the 1954 edition, but he became a three-time European Cup winner during his illustrious spell in the Real Madrid kit.
3. Ronaldo (Brazil | 1996)
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The original. The omnipotent. Ronaldo Nazario had already won his first World Cup honour with Brazil before jetting off to the USA for the 1996 Olympic Games, where he bagged five goals and one assist en route to a bronze medal.
However, Ronaldo was technically not Ronaldo during the Atlanta Games - he sported the likeness Ronaldinho on his back due to his namesake and senior, Ronaldo Guiaro, also being part of the squad.
While the South American superstar will forever be regarded as one of the best attacking talents to play the game, many are left wondering what new heights he could have reached had his body been kinder to him throughout his career.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal | 2004)
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When one reminisces about Cristiano Ronaldo in a Portugal jersey in 2004, minds will immediately wander towards his stream of tears at the Euros, but the Al-Nassr attacker also earned his Olympic stars that year.
Indeed, Ronaldo competed at the Athens Games - home of the Greece side that crushed his Euros dreams - with his nation and scored one goal in a 2-1 victory over Morocco, but he experienced more international heartache as Portugal were eliminated in the group phase.
Ronaldo's waterworks of 2004 preceded a similarly emotional release 20 years later at the most recent European Championships, but whether he bows to the calls to finally retire from international duty, he will always have 2016 to look back on.
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina | 2008)
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Amid the extraordinary number of accolades that Lionel Messi has won and will continue to win until he hangs up his magical boots, an Olympic gold almost seems superficial now, but the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner should always fondly look back on his run to Beijing glory.
A fresh-faced 21-year-old sporting his iconic long hair, Messi found the back of the net three times and provided two assists for champions Argentina, setting up Angel Di Maria's winning goal in the 1-0 final success over Nigeria.
While Olympic stardom meant that Messi had technically conquered the globe, the ultimate prize in the shape of a World Cup crown arrived 14 years later, and the former Barcelona star may just have one more major tournament in his ageing legs.
Ben Knapton
