Paris Saint-Germain has suspended Lionel Messi for making an unauthorised personal promotional trip to Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi is believed to have asked PSG for permission to visit the nation, which he did on Sunday night after twice canceling a scheduled business trip there due to team losses. He, however, did not get that authorisation, and as a result, following a day of meetings with the club’s hierarchy, he was given a two-game suspension and a two-week pay fine.
On Monday, the 35-year-old was pictured in Riyadh and announced his visit on social media. Lionel Messi already represents Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry.
The level of response from the club, who have decided against publicly commenting, is evidence of a new policy at PSG, led by president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, where everyone will be subject to the same rules and no one will be bigger than the club.
Lionel Messi will now miss the Ligue 1 games against Troyes and Ajaccio, but he could make a comeback for the game on May 21 against Auxerre.
The World Cup winner is nearing the end of a two-year deal with the Ligue 1 leaders and is still waiting to sign a new deal because he wanted to see their sporting plans for the upcoming season.
Messi, who arrived back in Paris on Tuesday night, shared a photo of a line of palm trees on Instagram in collaboration with VisitSaudi and the caption, “Who thought Saudi has so much green? I love to explore its unexpected wonders whenever I can. #visitsaudi.” More than 5.6 million people liked the post.
What’s Next for Lionel Messi?
When Messi’s contract with PSG expires this summer, Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal wants to sign him. With the support of the nation, they are willing to pay him an absurd £400 million for just one season in order to promote a league that also features Cristiano Ronaldo.
Only hours after Lionel Messi had played the full 90 minutes of PSG’s 3-1 home loss to Lorient, which reduced their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to just five points with as many games remaining, tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb tweeted a welcome to Messi and posted pictures of the Argentina World Cup winner.
Also, by speaking with La Liga about creating more flexibility in their Financial Fair Play ratio, Barcelona has already made an attempt to step up their efforts to make Messi a contract offer this summer.
With the goal of trying to re-sign Messi for what is likely to be his final season in European football, the club is in discussions with the league about their spending caps for the upcoming season.
