Cristiano Ronaldo in Line to Join Lionel Messi and Neymar at 2016 Rio Olympics

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo could join Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Neymar in a star-studded lineup for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The football tournament at the Olympics is ostensibly an under-23s competition, but three over-age players are allowed per team.

With Portugal having qualified for the Rio Olympics after reaching the final of the current European Under-21 Championships, Ronaldo is, unsurprisingly, being considered to be part of the squad.

President of the Portuguese Football Federation Fernando Gomes confirmed that the Real Madrid star is in contention, but not yet confirmed, per Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte (h/t David Sanchidrian in AS): "It is a possibility. We can take three players over the age of 23. Cristiano is one of the hypotheses, but we have still not sat down to discuss it."

As Portugal's best player, the 30-year-old Ronaldo would obviously be a terrific addition to an already strong potential Olympic squad.

Their 5-0 mauling of Germany in the semi-finals of the under-21 Euros was further proof, as if it were needed, that Portugal have some serious talent coming through.

With the likes of Bernardo Silva and William Carvalho, they would boast arguably the best midfield in the tournament, per WhoScored.com's Ben McAleer:

Add Ronaldo to that equation with his ludicrous goalscoring ability, and a gold medal could be on the cards for the Portuguese side.

The former Manchester United man has appeared at the Olympics once before, in 2004, when Portugal were knocked out in the group stages. 

He would surely jump at the chance to triumph in the Olympics and potentially add another gong to his ever-growing trophy cabinet, but his club may have something to say about it.

Not only would appearing at the Olympics likely see Ronaldo missing out on Real's pre-season, per Sanchidrian, but it comes just weeks after the 2016 European Championships in France, in which Ronaldo should be competing.

Los Blancos will likely be averse to seeing their star man take part in two major competitions in the offseason, which could see him tired out before the 2016-17 term had even started. 

It remains to be seen how such issues will be resolved between Ronaldo's club and country, but he is seemingly very much in Portugal's plans for the Olympics at the moment.