2023-05-02 21:45:11
BarcelonaPSG has suspended Leo Messi for fifteen days with immediate effect. According to the French media L’Équipe and RMC, the Argentine star, whom Barça wants to recover, will not be able to play, train with the team or collect the proportional part of the salary for two weeks. The drastic decision by the club, which is owned by a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, came after the player traveled to Saudi Arabia for two days, along with his family, for business reasons without giving notice to their managers.
Messi’s temporary absence comes at a critical time for the French team. PSG fell last weekend at home to Lorient (1-3), and saw their lead in Ligue 1 cut against Olympique de Marseille. The Parisians have a five point margin with fifteen still to play. Messi, therefore, will miss two key matches in the fight for the title, against Troyes and Ajaccio. From the Argentinian’s environment, they maintain that they have no official record of PSG’s punishment and express some surprise, since the footballer and his family flew to Saudi Arabia coinciding with the entire team’s days off.
Strategic rivals
Leo Messi is a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia under a recently signed agreement with the country. The sanction is another sign of the climate of hostility that has reigned between Saudi Arabia and Qatar for years. The two countries are fighting for hegemony in the area. One of the most recent tense episodes occurred when in 2017 Qatar suffered the economic blockade of several neighboring countries under the leadership of Saudi Arabia. That year Riyadh aligned itself with Egypt, the Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen, which also announced the suspension of their diplomatic relations with Qatar due to the country’s alleged “support for terrorism”. They accused him of financing groups such as Al-Qaida, the Islamic State or the Muslim Brotherhood. Nor do Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a good relationship in the sporting field: in ARA we explained a few months ago that the two countries are competing to buy world sport.
The last media acquisition of the Saudis was Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed for Al-Nassr after the World Cup in Qatar in exchange for a million dollar figure. The rival of this club on the grass is Al-Hilal, who are now trying to sign Messi, who ends his contract with PSG on June 30 and there is no indication that he is going to renew it. The other options that Rosario has on the table go through the MLS and the dream, so far complicated, of returning to Barça.
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