The truth about Messi's Saudi Arabia trip & PSG's excessive sanction
The French club are trying to put pressure on Messi with his future unresolved
Relations between Lionel Messi and Paris Saint-Germain are not going through the best of times. The future of the Argentine crack at the French club is complicated, not only by Barcelona's interest in re-signing him but also because the Parisians feel annoyed by his decision to postpone his renewal while waiting to know more about the sporting project for the next season.
The tension has been increasing in the last few weeks, with the results not going well either. Although PSG remain the clear favourites to win Ligue 1, last Sunday's shock 3-1 defeat to Lorient has reduced the Parisians' lead over second-placed Marseille to just five points.
SAUDI TRIP
It was precisely this loss at the Parc des Princes that triggered the latest conflict, which was entirely unintentional on Messi's part. The Argentinian star requested permission to travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet business commitments that he had already cancelled on two occasions. The club granted it, taking into account that the players had a day off on Monday and Tuesday.
However, when Messi was already flying out, PSG changed the schedule and announced a surprise training session on Monday morning. Messi was, of course, unable to return in time and PSG, incomprehensibly, decided to punish Messi with a two-week suspension from employment and wages. This punishment, however, has not yet been officially communicated to the player or his entourage.
DISPROPORTIONATE PUNISHMENT
The disproportionate nature of Messi's sanction contrasts, paradoxically, with the wide berth that PSG has shown over the years with Neymar's absences to go to his sister's birthday in Brazil or Kylian Mbappé's clearly damaging statements about the club. Undoubtedly, this punishment can be interpreted either as revenge by PSG for the fact that Messi has not yet renewed or as a way of pressuring him to finally accept a renewal.
In the coming days, while waiting for Barça to move forward in their desire to 're-sign' Messi, there may be developments in the future of the best player in the world, who is still not sure where he will play next season.
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