Will Lionel Messi soon play against Cristiano Ronaldo like he did in the Spanish Clasico when they met with their clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid? That may be. The Argentine world champion is said to have been suspended by his club Paris Saint-Germain. It should be the first club penalty ever for the 35-year-old in his long and glorious career. The disciplinary measure shows that Messi’s time at his current club Paris Saint-Germain is running out and he is about to depart for Saudi Arabia.
At least that’s how the French media interpret it. The sports newspaper “L’Équipe” featured Qatari PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Messi, with PSG fans in the background. “The crack,” headlined the paper. “No going back,” it said on page two, the suspension for the trip is undoubtedly the end of Messi’s time at Paris Saint-Germain.
The incriminating trip is a short trip to Messi’s Saudi Arabia that the superstar took with his family earlier this week. On Sunday, PSG lost 3-1 to FC Lorient after a listless performance and once again revealed their sporting crisis. After that, Messi flew to Saudi Arabia for two days, although the days off originally planned had been canceled by coach Christophe Galtier. It was apparently an affront to the club leadership.
The 35-year-old is the country’s tourism ambassador and accepted an invitation from the Saudi Minister of Tourism. He diligently posted pictures from the trip: the Messis were always in a good mood with a smile, sometimes in the play park, sometimes with a deer or horse. Messi himself posted a picture of palm trees with lush green grass growing between them on his Instagram account: “Who knew the Saudis have so much greenery. I love exploring unexpected wonders whenever possible”, wrote the superstar.
Of course, the trip to the desert state fueled the rumors. It has long been speculated that Messi will follow Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League. Following the example of Qatar, the country wants to bid to host the 2030 World Cup and the two superstars would be perfect figureheads for a campaign. Al-Hilal Saudi FC is said to have made the Argentinian an unbelievable offer of 350 million US dollars (equivalent to around 318 million euros) in annual salary. That would be more than Ronaldo, who is said to collect 200 million euros at Al-Nassr FC.
Yet it is not so far. There are persistent rumors that Messi’s heart club, FC Barcelona, are also hoping for the return of their prodigal son. “With this new conflict on the horizon, the Catalans are rubbing their hands at the Argentine’s attempt to return,” wrote Argentine newspaper La Nacion. It is unlikely that Messi will return to Barcelona.
Messi’s looming departure from the French capital would be the end of a very expensive misunderstanding. Messi should be the last building block for PSG to finally achieve the long-awaited Champions League victory. But big names don’t automatically win titles. PSG has been proving that since it was taken over by Qatar Investment Sports in 2011. Once during that period, PSG made it to the premier class final. That was in 2020 under coach Thomas Tuchel. The victory went to the other German coach named Hansi Flick and Bayern. This season, PSG failed again at the Munich team, but this time in the round of 16. In the cup, Olympique Marseille also ended in the round of 16. That’s a very modest yield by PSG standards.
The misunderstanding only caused Messi to come under more and more criticism in Paris, and there were even whistles from PSG Ultras against Superstar. Messi’s time there is likely to be up soon.
Sources: “Bild”, “Eurosport”, “Le Parsien”, DPA
