Ilaix Moriba Dream Of Joining Messi, Winning Olympic Gold At The Age Of 21

Ilaix Moriba wants to follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi at the Olympics (Instagram/@ilaixmk).

JAKARTA - Ilaix Moriba wants to follow in his senior footsteps at Barcelona, Lionel Messi, while defending Guinea at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Moriba dreamed of winning the 2024 Olympic gold medal in football at the age of 21. Messi did the same thing when he won the 2008 Beijing Olympics, also when he was 21 years old.

He believes Guinea can talk a lot in Paris even though they passed the qualification through the final line, namely the playoffs.

"Olympics are something you can't experience every year," Moriba said on his FIFA website.

"You see mystical photos, like Messi won a gold medal. So, you know this is a special moment and should not be missed if there is a chance."

"If it's not given to you, then you need to look for it. That's what I've been doing," Moriba said again.

Moriba upholds Messi very much when he was still at Barcelona until 2021.

In fact, he left Camp Nou when the Barcelona superstar joined Paris Saint-Germain.

Ilaix Moriba is currently in RB Leipzig uniform. He was loaned to Valencia for two seasons and a half last season with Getafe.

Now, Moriba wants to follow Messi again. He will not waste the opportunity that is already in sight.

Moriba will pursue the gold medal target at the 2024 Paris Olympics despite many strong opponents, one of which is Argentina.

Motivation is increasingly involved because for Guinea, the 2024 Olympics are their debut in the world's largest multi-sports event.

"I looked for it and now have the opportunity to take part. Qualification has become a history for this country, but we want this to be even more historic."

"I have great confidence in this team. I have been involved for two years. During that time we have made a lot of progress. It's time for hard work in recent years to come to fruition."

"It started to happen and this country saw it. Now we want everyone to make it happen and really put ourselves on the map of football."

"My mentality is to win. I am not afraid of anyone. Our attitude is to leave everything behind and defend the great job we have done," Moriba said.

Guinea occupies Group A of 16 participants in the 2024 Paris Olympics. They will face hosts France, the United States, and New Zealand in the group stage.