His arrival was supposed to finally crown Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Europe with the achievement of the Champions League after years of talent supply, but Leo Messi’s time in Paris seems to have come to an end after the club lashed out at the player for an allegedly unexcused absence from training on Monday. As Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) reported yesterday, PSG’s intention is to suspend the Argentinian from his salary and work for two weeks. A disciplinary sanction that Rosario, current winner of FIFA’s The Best, had not faced in his entire career. Shortly after, L’Équipe assured that another consequence of this absence will be that the club will not extend the Argentine’s contract, which ends on June 30, and therefore withdraw the renewal offer that I had introduced him months ago.
According to French media, the irritation of the Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, stems from Messi’s trip to Saudi Arabia after the heavy defeat against Lorient (1-3). Although at the beginning Cristophe Galtier, the team’s coach, had granted two days of rest to the staff, hours after the game he called a session for Monday. The Argentinian striker headed for Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) when the match ended and could not have heard of the club’s announcement and thus avoid the disappointment. In any case, it was a long-scheduled trip, which he had already canceled up to twice, and in which he had to carry out a promotional engagement.
The entire squad showed up at the sports city of Camp des Loges to train and some players, according to L’Équipe, were surprised by the Argentine’s absence. At the club this absence has been considered as “a serious mistake” and for this reason it has taken the decision to open a disciplinary file. According to Le Parisien, he will not be able to train from Wednesday and he also risks a financial fine. At the moment, he will not be able to play the next two games, in Troyes this Sunday, and against Ajaccio on Saturday 13 May. Disciplinary measures surprising if you consider that in the face of similar episodes with Neymar, nothing ever happened.
After that, the continuity of Messi at the French champion seems irreconcilable. The last 48 hours have caused a point of no return in the relationship between player and club. One of the teams that is very much waiting for this more than probable break is Barça and this episode favors these interests. Xavi Hernández, in a press conference after the match against Osasuna, stopped short of making statements, but it is no secret that the coach would be delighted with Messi’s return to Camp Nou.
