Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has repeatedly spoken about his wish is to represent Argentina at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
The 31-year-old is currently with the national team, preparing for the Copa América, and had a chat with TyC Sports, where he again talked about his desire to make it to the Olympics.
Aston Villa have no obligation to let their players leave for the Olympics as this event isn’t part of the FIFA calendar.
The Olympics will take place between July 26th and August 11th, a week before the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season. The World Cup winner insists that he willl do everything possible to convince Unai Emery’s side to let him go to Paris.
“It is a wish that I want to play in the Olympic Games, but it doesn’t just depend on me. The club has blocked me many times,” he said.
“I decided to play the Copa América and then make a decision. With the club, who didn’t let any national team player go, it is not 100% given. I always put the Argentine national team first and if I have to fight with the club, I will. The most important thing is the Copa América, then the Olympic Games. My dream is to wear the gold medal.”
Argentina U23 manager Javier Mascherano can include three players above the age of 23 in his squad, and has already decided to take Manchester City’s Julián Álvarez and Benfica’s Nicolás Otamendi.
After Martínez’s latest words, a fresh report from TyC Sports states that Mascherano is now waiting for Aston Villa’s final decision.
With the stopper insisting that he is to ready to ‘fight’ with his club, Emery and the Villans now have a decision to make.
