new conflict for Lionel Messi in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). After it became known that the footballer had traveled to Saudi Arabia, the club decided to suspend him for two weeks, since he would not have requested authorization from the authorities of the institution. This was reported by the French media RMC Sports, Le Parisien and L’Equipe this Tuesday, pending the official statement. In this way, the 35-year-old striker will miss the next two matches of the Ligue 1.
“Everything has been considered by the club, so internally It is classified as a serious error. The PSG initiated this classic disciplinary procedure after the non-compliance/absence of an employee without authorization. No more comments will be made from the club”, anticipated the portal RMC Sports. This way, The flea will be absent the next two games of the PSG: against Troyes and Ajaccio (two of the tournament’s weakest rivals) and will not train with the team in this period either.
The big question at the moment is whether the sanction will be without pay. According to L’Equipe y RMC Sports, Indeed it will be so, but the rest of the French media has ignored the matter for the moment. It is hoped that the club will clarify this situation, which may be a before and after in the future of Messi.
The images of Messi in Saudi Arabia (AhmedAlKhateeb)
The Rosario star got on a plane with the rest of his family and traveled to the Asian country to spend a few hours in the Middle East. The first to confirm the novelty was the Saudi Minister of Tourism. “I am pleased to welcome Saudi Arabian Tourism Ambassador Lionel Messi and his family on their second vacation here. We are happy to share our authentic Saudi welcome with all of you,” said Ahmed Al Khateeb. Immediately afterwards, he himself was in charge of uploading three images of Leo’s stay with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzoand his sons matthew and cyrus. In the photos, the presence of the major could not be seen, Thiago.
It should be remembered that Messi, who is considered by many to be the best player on the planet and one of the best in history, signed a contract with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in the Arab kingdom. In May 2022, it was the first time that the Saudis introduced him as their tourism ambassador during a trip to a resort town along the Red Sea.
But, it is evident that PSG have not liked this trip of the Argentine at this time when the team is far from shining and lost 3-1 at the Parc des Princes against Lorient over the weekend. Besides, the former Barcelona has not yet renewed his contract with the French team, so the chances that he will not continue there next season are getting bigger.
Christophe Galtier’s ensemble marches first in the Ligue 1with five points of advantage over Olympic Marseille, when there are only five games left for the closing. If the sanction is fulfilledMessi would return for the match on May 21 against Auxerre of visitor. After that duel, PSG will visit Racing Strasbourg and end the season at the Parc des Princes against Clermont.
These two years of the Rosario in Paris have been far from being the best of his career. The club hired him with the mission of winning the Champions League and in both seasons the team was eliminated in the round of 16, despite having formed a luxury striker with Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
After these two frustrating campaigns, Nasser Al-Khelaifi would have decided to change the club’s policy and this measure against Messi would be part of it, according to the portal RMC Sports. This penalty would then work as a message to the entire dressing room that the club is ahead of its own names.
In the last hours, in Paris it was already anticipated that something like this could happen. The newspaper The team published the Argentine soccer player on its cover with a controversial title: “The mess Messi”. The sports newspaper hinted at an alleged anger between the coaching staff and the PSG squad with the number 30 of the squad. “The day after the defeat against Lorient, the Argentine missed training to go to Saudi Arabia without having the agreement of the squad,” they added on the cover.
The article mentions that the coach Galtier and his staff “had explained to the Parisian players that they would only have the right to two days off (Monday and Tuesday) in the event of a win against Lorient.” The idea that they train on Monday and have Tuesday off was to “avoid trips abroad,” especially after criticism over the photos of “some players giving the impression of being on vacation,” the newspaper said in relation to the latest four days of rest that the DT had granted them a few weeks ago.