After Lionel Messi left without the club’s permission to visit Saudi Arabia, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fined him and suspended him for two weeks.
The Argentine football star’s suspension will prevent him from taking part in practice or PSG’s coming matches against Troyes and Ajaccio.
According to reports, Messi asked for permission to go for commercial reasons but was turned down. He nevertheless embarked on the trip to the Middle Eastern country. He will now face disciplinary action from PSG as a result.
With his two-year contract expiring this summer, questions have been raised regarding Messi’s future with PSG as a result of the club’s decision to suspend him. The fact that Messi was suspended shows that PSG has zero tolerance for discipline and is working on building a team around younger players.
There is little doubt that his contract won’t be renewed.
Following PSG’s Sunday loss to Lorient at home, Messi was suspended after playing the entire 90 minutes. With five games remaining, PSG is five points clear atop the Ligue 1 rankings and aiming to win their ninth league victory in 11 years. Messi’s future appears to lie elsewhere, despite rumors that Barcelona wants to lure him back to the Nou Camp.
Barcelona is reportedly in conversation with LaLiga about increasing the flexibility of their Financial Fair Play ratio. To entice Messi back to Barcelona for what will likely be his final season playing in Europe, the club hopes to make him a contract offer this summer. However, because they have utilized all of their available funds, the club will have to let players go to make room for Messi’s return.
Messi has been supposedly offered a one-year deal worth £400 million to play for Saudi Arabia‘s Al Hilal. It is unclear, nevertheless, whether their offer was related to his most recent trip to Saudi Arabia. Messi already represents the nation’s tourism industry in the Middle Eastern region.