Lionel Messi talking with Argentina about playing in Paris Olympics

March 6 (UPI) -- Inter Miami soccer star Lionel Messi is discussing with Argentina potentially playing in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, United States men's national under-23 team manager Javier Mascherano said.

Mascherano spoke about the talks during an interview with TyC Sports. Men's national teams at the Olympics must include mostly players aged 23 or younger, but are permitted to use three players who are older.

"I spoke with Leo and we agreed to do it again in a while," Mascherano said of the 36-year-old Messi. "He has just started the season with Inter Miami. There is still time left for the Games, especially knowing that he also has the Copa America.

"It is not an easy situation. We have to see if he really has the energy to be there."

Messi earned gold with Argentina at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. He did not participate in any other Olympics.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner played every minute in each of Inter Miami's first three MLS matches this season, registering three goals and an assist for the unbeaten Herons (2-0-1).

Coming off a 2022 World Cup title run and the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season with French club Paris Saint-Germain, the former Barcelona star was not in the lineup late last season for the Herons, as he battled fatigue and injury during his first year with the MLS club.

Herons manager Tata Martino consistently spoke to reporters early this season about time management for the Argentine striker.

"I've been discussing some [workload-related] things with him, and what concerns me the most is the day-to-day and how he is recovering game-by-game," Martino said earlier this month, according to the Miami Herald.

"I feel that in the first two matches, we relied on him too much, which has caused him significant fatigue in both games."

Messi was summoned for two of Argentina's upcoming Copa America warmup matches -- March 22 against El Salvador and March 26 against Costa Rica.

The Herons will play Nashville SC in a Concacaf Champions Cup match at 9 p.m. EST Thursday in Nashville. They then will host CF Montreal in an MLS regular-season match at 5 p.m. EDT Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Herons are scheduled to face the New York Red Bulls in another MLS match the day after the Argentina-El Salvador game.

The men's and women's Olympic soccer tournaments for Paris 2024 will be held from July 24 to Aug. 10 throughout France.

Mascherano also said that Argentina goalie Emiliano Martinez, who won the 2022 World Cup alongside Messi, is also under consideration for his World Cup roster.

Martinez plays for Aston Villa of the Premier League.