Lionel Messi has returned to Paris Saint-Germain after the club overturned his suspension for an unofficial trip to Saudi Arabia. Following the defeat to Lorient, the Argentine international did not report to training with the French champions on Monday last week because he was in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh.
Messi has a multi-million-pound arrangement with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in the nation, which wants to host the 2030 World Cup. PSG replied by suspending the 35-year-old for two weeks, ruling him out of Ligue 1 games against Troyes this weekend and Ajaccio the following Saturday.
Here is Lionel Messi’s image from the practice session
??? Leo Messi de retour à l'entraînement ce lundi matin. pic.twitter.com/VkGGN3G8OI
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) May 8, 2023
Last week, Messi explained and apologise for his behaviour, and after conversations with the club, he returned to training on Monday, while his teammates took the day off following Sunday’s win. “Hello, well, I wanted to make this video after everything that is happening,” Messi said in a video posted on Instagram on Friday.
“First of all, I apologise to my teammates, to the club. Honestly, I thought we were going to have a day off after the game, as had been happening in previous weeks. I had this trip to Arabia organised and I couldn’t cancel it. I had already cancelled it before. I repeat again and apologise for what I did. Here I am, waiting for what the club decides,” he added.
Messi’s future at PSG is doubtful after the 2022-23 season. He joined the club from Barcelona on a two-year contract for €30 million per year in the summer of 2021. The contract provides a third year at the same salary if all parties agree to the extension, although it is expected that he will go. PSG overcame Troyes on Sunday in Messi’s absence to preserve their lead atop the Ligue 1 rankings.
