2023-05-02 22:16:12
Published on : Modified :
Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain struck a blow on Tuesday by suspending their superstar Lionel Messi for an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, also opening disciplinary proceedings against the Ballon d’Or, ever closer to a departure at the end of the season.
It looks like an almost final divorce between the 35-year-old Argentinian and the Parisian club: at the end of the contract in June, the world champion will be dismissed “several days”, according to a source with knowledge of the file, and his future clearly seems to have to be written far from the French capital.
“The optional year present in his contract will therefore not be lifted”, even assures L’Equipe.
Messi “cannot train, cannot play and he is not paid for the time of the disciplinary procedure”, continued the source with knowledge of the file, nevertheless refusing to advance on the duration of the suspension. According to several media including RMC and L’Equipe, this has been set at two weeks.
Another source close to the club, for his part, indicated that the management would “probably” suspend Messi for two weeks “with immediate effect”, noting that “no one is above the institution”.
In question, an express trip to Saudi Arabia made in recent hours by the Argentine striker, who left after Sunday’s defeat against Lorient in Ligue 1 (3-1) even though training was on the program for PSG on Monday.
The extension goes away
The player has not received permission from PSG to go to the Gulf, while Paris is only five points ahead of Marseille in the standings, before going to Troyes on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) for the 34th daytime.
“La Pulga” has however been seen in Saudi Arabia in recent hours, as part of a contract with the country’s tourist office, which it regularly promotes on its social networks. The precise duration of his trip has not filtered.
He now risks missing the trip to Troyes on Sunday, as well as the reception of Ajaccio on May 13 if his absence is indeed two weeks. There will then only be three matches left on the program for PSG, which hopes to save its season with an 11th title of champion of France.
This disciplinary procedure comes at a decisive moment for the future of Messi at PSG because the latter, rather tasteless in recent weeks on the lawns, is at the end of his contract with the club of the French capital.
The 35-year-old has scored 15 goals this season in Ligue 1, in his second season at PSG, which is increasingly likely to be his last as negotiations for an extension have been dragging on for several months.
Tasteless performance
With this spectacular and extremely rare decision for a player of this caliber – seven times Ballon d’Or -, the management of PSG bangs their fists on the table, after a season that is not far from catastrophic for the club and its owners. Qataris.
“It’s a very strong decision, a significant turn”, notes a connoisseur of the mysteries of PSG: “even if the extension file is not settled, we can read between the lines”, also believes this source.
On the return from the World Cup in Qatar, the captain of Argentina seemed to be moving more towards an extension in Paris, but the dynamic was gradually reversed, in the wake of declining performances and cold relations with the supporters.
At the beginning of April, a source close to the club already estimated that a departure was “much more likely”, even if the negotiations continued.
FC Barcelona dreams in particular of bringing back its idol, even if it will be financially complicated, the president of La Liga Javier Tebas having affirmed on April 19 that it would take “a plan of feasibility of Barça”, undoubtedly obliged to “sell players”.
Messi is also being courted by Saudi Arabia, where his lifelong rival, Cristiano Ronaldo is already playing…
Arrived in the summer of 2021 in France, Lionel Messi played 71 matches and scored 31 goals for PSG. And there is no guarantee that he will mark others …
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