Lionel Messi, Neymar and more: 8 greatest footballers to have won medals in Olympics football as Cristiano Ronaldo misses out

The Olympics have been a stage for multiple big names in football such as Lionel Messi and Neymar to win medals. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, hasn't been able to achieve Olympic glory with Portugal.

The list of players who've won Olympic medals for their country is long, but there are eight prominent names who've won the honor, namely Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, Pep Guardiola, Samuel Eto'o, Xavi, Carles Puyol, and Neymar.

All of these players have won gold for their countries except Xavi and Puyol, who brought home silver medals.

Lionel Messi, Di Maria and Aguero won the Olympic gold with Argentina in the 2008 Beijing edition. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola was a part of Spain's 1992 side held in Barcelona. Samuel Eto'o is next on the list after winning the 2000 edition with Cameroon.

Finally, Neymar won the gold with Brazil in the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio and the silver in the 2012 edition in London. Meanwhile, Xavi and Carles Puyol are two players who have won silver medals at the Olympics after losing to Cameroon in the 2000 edition.

Given the age restriction in the Olympics that only allows under-23 players to participate in the men's football category, many players have only been able to participate in the games once.

Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have participated in the Olympics once, representing Argentina in 2008 and Portugal in 2004, respectively. Neymar participated in two editions of the Olympics in 2012 and 2016.

---

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo's individual performances at the Olympics explored

Cristiano Ronaldo's stint at the Olympics was underwhelming in his only participation in the tournament. The Portuguese participated in the 2004 edition in Athens when he was 19 but Portugal's campaign came to an end as they bowed out in the group stage.

Portugal lost to Iraq and Costa Rica in the group stage and only secured a 2-1 win against Morocco. However, Cristiano Ronaldo scored once against Morocco in the Portuguese's only victory.

Although Portugal participated in the 2016 edition once again, Cristiano Ronaldo was not a part of the squad at that time. They have not featured in the Olympics since.

Lionel Messi has an edge over his arch-rival when it comes to the Olympics, having won gold with Argentina in the 2008 Beijing edition. Messi performed well on an individual level for his country, as he recorded two goals and three assists in the tournament.

Lionel Messi's two crucial goals came against Ivory Coast in the group stage and Netherlands in the quarter-finals. He notably assisted in both the quarter-final and the final against Nigeria, leading his country to glory.

Much like his former Barcelona teammate Messi, Neymar won gold with Brazil in the Rio 2016 edition. His first participation came in London in 2012, where he was exceptional for the Selecao with three goals and three assists. However, he fell short of the gold after losing 1-2 to Mexico in the final.

In the 2016 edition, things started slow for Brazil after two draws in the group stages. However, things turned around from the quarter-final onwards, as Neymar recorded four goals and three assists in the competition. He scored in the quarter-final and the semi-final and also converted the winning penalty during the shootout against Germany in the final, leading Brazil to victory.