According to reports, Paris Saint-Germain has suspended Lionel Messi for two weeks for skipping training on Monday to visit Saudi Arabia.
Messi won’t be paid during his suspension, and he won’t take part in practice or games for the starting lineup, according to ESPN.
The PSG manager, Christophe Galtier, reportedly told his players that if they won against Lorient on Sunday, they would get Monday and Tuesday off from exercise, but if they lost, they would have to show up for a session on Monday.
Messi requested authorization to honour his sponsorship arrangement as a Saudi ambassador, and Luis Campos and Galtier authorized it in the event of a win or a draw and not a defeat.
However, sources told ESPN that Messi flew to Saudi Arabia without getting another approval, which prevented him from participating in practice on Monday after PSG’s humiliating 3-1 loss to Lorient, their third loss in their previous four league games.
The incident reportedly caused tension in the locker room and disturbed some players, according to sources who talked with ESPN.
Messi and PSG
Messi signed a contract with Paris Saint-Germain on August 10. He agreed to a two-year contract that runs through June 2023 with a one-year option. Messi selected the number 30 for his team, the same number he wore for Barcelona when he made his senior debut as a teenager.
On August 29, Messi made his professional debut for the team by substituting in the second half of a 2-0 Ligue 1 victory away at Reims. On September 15, in the team’s away tie against Club Brugge that ended in a score of 1-1, he got his first start and Champions League debut.
Messi made his home debut for PSG in a 2-1 victory over Lyon four days later. On September 28, he scored his first goal for the team, a strike from the edge of the 18-yard box in a 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League group stage.
Messi’s first Ligue 1 goal came on November 21 in a 3-1 victory over Nantes at home. Later that month, as PSG defeated Saint-Étienne 3-1 away from home, he contributed a hat-trick of assists for the fifth time in his career. Messi got a record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or on November 29 after scoring 40 goals at the club and international levels for the calendar year and aiding Argentina in winning the 2021 Copa América.
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