Lionel Messi, Kanu Nwankwo, Samuel Eto'o among top players who have won Olympics gold

Lionel Messi, Kanu Nwankwo, Samuel Eto'o among top players who have won Olympics gold

Oluwatomiwa Babalola
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:50 PM
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  • Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kanu are among the top football stars who have won Olympics gold medal
  • Nigeria's Dream Team became the first from the African continent to achieve the feat at the Atlanta '96 edition
  • The world's current football star led his country to triumph at the last edition staged in Brazil

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Football events at this summer Olympic Games staging in Tokyo will kick off later this weekend with Argentina opening the floor in the men's category.

The tournament will see yet another set of outstanding players at the U23 levels while just three old-age players are given opportunitties to partcipate.

Neymar led his country to the podium five years ago and also became one of the top stars who have won the prestigious tournament in history.

Lionel Messi, Kanu Nwankwo, Samuel Eto'o among top players who have won Olympics gold
Neymar and the Brazilian team after winning Olympics gold in 2016. Photo by Soeren Stache/picture alliance
Source: Getty Images

However, Legit.ng will aim to list a few superstars who have also featured in the football event and then came out victorious in the end starting from Barcelona 1992 as compiled by Goal.com.

Spanish duo, Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola stand out from the Spanish team that win the silverware about 29 years ago.

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And four years later, Kanu Nwankwo led the first Dream Team to the podium at the Atlanta 1996 edition of the summer games.

Top Players who have won the medals

  • Luis Enrique - Spain - 1992
  • Pep Guardiola - Spain - 1992
  • Nwankwo Kanu- Nigeria -1996
  • Samuel Eto'o - Cameroon - 2000
  • Roberto Ayala - Argentina - 2004
  • Javier Mascherano - Argentina - 2004
  • Carlos Tevez - Argentina- 2004
  • Pablo Zabaleta - Argentina - 2008
  • Juan Roman Riquelme - Argentina - 2008
  • Angel Di Maria - Argentina - 2008
  • Javier Mascherano - Argentina - 2008
  • Lionel Messi - Argentina - 2008
  • Sergio Aguero - Argentina - 2008
  • Gabrie Jesus - Brazil - 2016
  • Neymar Brazil - 2016
  • Marquinhos Brazil - 2016

They came across tough opponents especially in the semifinals and the final where they defeated both Brazil and Argentina respective to become the first African nation to achieve the feat.

Four years later, Samuel Eto'o and his Indomitable Lions teammates inspired Cameroon the gold medal in Sydney.

Neymar responds to critics after Copa America loss

Legit.ng earlier reported that Brazil winger Neymar seems unapologetic about chatting Lionel Messi after losing the Copa America title to Argentina on home soil.

Angel Di Maria scored the only goal that handed La Albiceleste the victory in the 22nd minute of the crunch encounter.

After the final whistle, the world's most expensive player wept until Messi consoled him, and moments later, they were pictured laughing together - a sight that got many criticising him.

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Oluwatomiwa Babalola
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