A source informed AFP on Tuesday that Paris Saint-Germain may punish Lionel Messi for traveling to Saudi Arabia without authorization earlier this week.
According to the source, Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain, who will be out of contract at the conclusion of the current season, will be suspended for “several days,” however other media outlets in France stated that he would be given a sentence of two weeks.
“He cannot train, cannot play, and he will not be paid while disciplinary measures are in place,” the source continued.
Another source inside the club said that “nobody is more important than the club,” which led to the conclusion that the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or would “probably” be sidelined for a period of two weeks.
Messi, who will be 36 in June, was one of the players for PSG on Sunday as they were defeated by Lorient 3-1 at home in Ligue 1.
After that, he left for Saudi Arabia to carry out the duties that were outlined in the agreement that he had made with the tourism office of that nation.
As a direct consequence of this, Messi was not present for the training session that was scheduled to take place on Monday after the loss that occurred over the weekend. As a group, the PSG team was therefore granted the day off on Tuesday.
According to the person who is familiar with the situation, the Argentine athlete will not participate in the training session on Wednesday either.
On Sunday, PSG is scheduled to resume league play away against Troyes, a team that is currently suffering, but Messi may not be available for this match.
Should he be unable to play for the next two weeks, he would miss the home encounter against Ajaccio on May 13.
Messi’s current two-year contract will expire at the conclusion of this season, and the disciplinary actions taken against him make it even less likely that he will continue to play in the capital of France after that.
One month ago, a source close to the club told AFP that he was now “much more likely” to leave at the conclusion of the current season. At one time, it seemed as if he was going to prolong his stay for another year at the club.
Messi moved to Paris in 2021 from Barcelona, but he has had trouble regaining the form that made him so successful at Barcelona. He has only scored 31 goals in 71 games in all competitions.
He was recently jeered by a segment of the PSG crowd, who view him as a symbol of everything the club has done wrong in concentrating on superstar acquisitions while failing to develop a really competitive squad. They see him as a symbol of all the club has done wrong in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a truly competitive side.
This season, Messi has scored 20 goals in all competitions, and he leads Ligue 1 in assists with 15. He now has 15 assists to his name.
However, since he led Argentina to victory at the World Cup in Qatar, his performance level has dropped, and this trend has been mirrored by the team as a whole.
PSG’s lackluster effort against Lorient resulted in the club’s sixth loss in 17 Ligue 1 matches during the 2023 season.
They have five games left to play, but they still have a five-point lead over Marseille at the top of the table, and as a result, they are still on track to win a record 11th French championship.
However, Bayern Munich eliminated them from the Champions League in the round of 16, and they also lost to Marseille in the round of 16 of the French Cup. Both of these defeats occurred at the same stage.