Lionel Messi has been suspended for two weeks by PSG after going on a trip to Saudi Arabia without permission; Messi to leave French club on a free transfer at end of season; Messi: "I want to apologise to my team-mates and the club... I'm waiting to hear what the club want to do with me"
Friday 5 May 2023 20:31, UK
Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has apologised for his 'unauthorised' trip to Saudi Arabia that has led to him being suspended by the French club.
Messi admitted in an apology video on social media that he "thought he had the day off" after Sunday's 3-1 home Ligue 1 defeat to Lorient and is now "waiting to hear" from the club over his future.
He said: "First of all, I want to apologise to my team-mates and the club. Honestly, I thought we were going to have a day off after the game like we did in previous weeks.
"I had this trip organised, which I had cancelled already. I could not cancel it again. I repeat, I want to say sorry for what I did. I am waiting to hear what the club want to do with me."
Following his suspension, it was revealed on Wednesday that Messi will leave PSG at the end of the season, with the French champions not planning to offer the forward a new contract.
The Argentina international is understood to have asked PSG for permission to travel on a personal promotional trip to Saudi Arabia, which he did on Sunday night, having twice postponed a scheduled commercial trip due to team defeats.
However, Messi did not get that permission and was therefore suspended for two games and fined two weeks' wages after a day of meetings between the club's hierarchy.
The 35-year-old was pictured in Riyadh on Monday and advertised his presence in the country on his social media. Messi already serves as a tourism ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
The level of response from the club, who are declining to comment publicly, is proof of a new policy at PSG, driven by president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, whereby no one is bigger than the club - and the same rules will apply to everyone.
Messi will miss the upcoming Ligue 1 matches against Troyes and Ajaccio, but could return for the match against Auxerre on May 21.
Messi, who returned to Paris on Tuesday, posted on his Instagram in partnership with VisitSaudi a picture of a row of palm trees with the caption: "Who thought Saudi has so much green? I love to explore its unexpected wonders whenever I can. #visitsaudi."
The post was liked by more than five-and-a-half million people.
Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal want to sign Messi this summer when his contract at PSG runs out and, with the backing of the country, are prepared to pay him an astronomical £400m for just one season in order to market a league that would contain both Cristiano Ronaldo and the 2022 World Cup winner.
Tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb tweeted a welcome to Messi on Monday as well as posting pictures of the Argentina World Cup winner, only hours after he had played 90 minutes of PSG's defeat to Lorient, which cut their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to just five points with as many games remaining.
"I am happy to welcome Messi and his family to Saudi to enjoy the magical tourist destinations and authentic experiences," Al-Khateeb tweeted. "We welcome visitors from all around the world to experience a unique trip to Saudi Arabia and its hospitality."
Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021 on a two-year deal after leaving Barcelona due to their financial issues.
The 35-year-old has played 71 times for the French side, scoring 31 goals, recording 34 assists and lifting the title in 2022.
Sky Sports News also understands PSG would be willing to listen to offers for Neymar this summer.
With Messi set to leave PSG on a free transfer at the end of the season, while Neymar faces an uncertain future at the club, Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol assesses where the pair could end up this summer as PSG end their 'bling-bling' culture...
I'm not sure he really wanted to go to PSG to begin with. I think in an ideal world he would have stayed at Barcelona. You saw how emotional it was for him leaving the club after he went for financial reasons - it was a real wrench for him to leave.
He went to PSG where they're set up to win the Champions League and that hasn't happened.
It always felt a bit like a marriage of convenience, and although there was this option for the contract to be extended by a third year, PSG have decided not to activate that extension.
It was a masterstroke to sign him in the first place because they were thinking about the World Cup in Qatar. The owners wanted to make sure that they had most of the best players there playing for PSG, and they had Neymar, the poster boy of Brazilian football, they had Kylian Mbappe and they had Messi. Then they got their dream final, which was Messi versus Mbappe.
Also, from a commercial point of view, PSG have made money. I know they're paying him a phenomenal contract but if you speak to people at PSG, they will say commercially it has been a good deal. For Qatar, meanwhile, it was brilliant marketing and branding so it was a business transaction.
Both parties may be unhappy at the moment, but they both ended up making money out of it and it suited both parties for two years and it's now time to move on.
The sad thing about it all is the way it's ending. PSG's fans have been outside the club's offices chanting abuse about Messi after he was suspended for this unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia. He can't train, he can't play for two weeks and he's not getting paid.
Will he even play again for PSG? How's he going to react to being suspended? Just a few months on from winning the World Cup in Qatar, playing for a club owned by the Qataris, it's ending really messily.
Neymar is facing an uncertain future at PSG. It's the end of the 'bling-bling' culture and they want to move in a different direction so they would be willing to listen to offers for Neymar.
In the past they've been willing to listen to offers for him and things have not been going that great for Neymar.
There were these protests outside of his house on Wednesday by PSG supporters who were chanting, 'Get out of our club'. There was a very strong statement from PSG last night condemning that.
There's a lot of noise around Neymar and I think PSG are thinking they don't need this noise anymore.
I think him leaving would fit in with their new strategy. PSG don't want to be the Harlem Globetrotters or the Dream Team, they want to be the club version of that France side at the World Cup with young, humble and hungry French players.
