Leo Messi complied with the sanction yesterday and did not show up for training with his PSG teammates. After his unauthorized escape, according to the club, to Saudi Arabia, it is taken for granted that the Argentine will not renew. The sad divorce further aggravates the feeling of a sporting and management crisis at the club from the French capital, whose most loyal fans are frustrated and outraged by the course of the season.
“Who would have imagined that the story would end like this?” asked the newspaper L’Équipe. Deep down, it is still ironic that it was precisely Leo Messi, a very serious and professional player throughout his career, who forced the Qatari owners of PSG, for years too permissive with the whims of their stars, to give up punch on the table to finally show that no one, not even a planetary legend and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, can skip collective discipline.
The PSG management did not openly and officially confirm that it was separating the forward with the number 30 for two weeks and that it would not pay him the proportion of salary. He preferred, perhaps out of shame and pride, to communicate it indirectly.
L’Équipe and Le Parisien, the media that dedicate the most coverage to PSG, agreed that punishing Messi was inevitable due to a matter of consistency. The owners of PSG could not accept turning a blind eye without completely losing authority over the squad, even more so when the commercial trip of Messi and his family to the Wahhabi kingdom – which hired the footballer as a tourist ambassador – occurred one day after the humiliating defeat at home, by 1-3, against the Breton Lorient. It was not valid for the club as an excuse that Messi had already had to postpone his commitment to the Saudis twice.
The man from Rosario will miss the next two games, against Troyes and against Ajaccio. These are decisive matches because, due to their collapse, PSG’s lead over their pursuers, Marseille, has been reduced to five points. If the Parisians missed the league, it would be an absolute disaster, after being eliminated from the Champions League, their great dream, and the French Cup.
The Ultras Paris Collective (CUP) called a demonstration yesterday in front of the club’s offices, in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb on the southern outskirts of the capital. “It is time for things to move and the Paris Saint Germain institution to rediscover its soul and splendor,” the organizers said on Twitter. They urged peaceful concentration and stressed that “the goal is to move things forward in a structured and intelligent way.” In the text they did not mention Messi because his anger goes much further, to the group of players and to the owners. However, at the moment of truth, serious insults were heard against the Argentine (also against Neymar and the board).
Between the Parisian fans and Messi there has never been a passionate love. The Argentine has had brilliant phases and other mediocre ones. Already before the sanction and the separation there were growing doubts about his continuity. Those responsible for PSG did not seem to be clear about the advantages of retaining him. The presence of Messi has only exacerbated a structural problem, the imbalance due to the juxtaposition of superstars. The French press sees three possible destinations for Messi: a return to Barça, Inter Miami or Saudi Al Hilal. All present serious drawbacks, whether financial or sporting. What already seems definitive is that, except for surprise, Messi’s days in the city of the Seine are numbered and it will be a bitter farewell, on both sides.
