Messi sanctioned by Paris Saint Germain

Lionel Messi’s problems with his current club, Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint Germain, have been documented for a few months now, and rumours of his exit at the end of the season have only gotten louder with the recent news that he was sanctioned two weeks off his salary because of an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. This has only gotten things much more heated in the French capital for the Argentinian starlet and his team.

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This situation seems to be both a misunderstanding and being prompted by the already-tense relationship between both parties. According to recent reports, Messi travelled to Saudi Arabia for business commitments he had already postponed twice in the past, although there are also rumours he could join a team in that country during the summer.

However, the PSG board took this as a serious offense because the Argentinian was part of the side that lost 3-1 to Lorient during the weekend, which resulted in them cutting their lead over second-place Marseille to just five points. Considering how utterly dominating PSG tend to be in their local league, the defeat and Messi’s trip to Saudi Arabia have caused a lot of turmoil in the camp of the Ligue 1 champions.

Due to this, Messi has been fined with two weeks off his salary and will not be a part of the next two following matches against Troyes and Ajaccio. He should be available for the game against Auxerre on May 21^st, although it was reported this week that a lot of PSG supporters in the French capital were doing offensive chants at the Argentinian, screaming for him to leave their club.

Paris Saint-Germain fans outside club’s HQ chanting against Leo Messi 🚨😳 #Messi

🎥 @CanalSupporterspic.twitter.com/a5011uUklU

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 3, 2023

All of this has been building up during Messi’s two seasons at PSG. While there is no debate about his quality and achievements in the game, rightfully viewed by many as the best footballer of all time, there is also no denying that he has struggled to connect with the Paris Saint Germain faithful and his performances, particularly in the UEFA Champions League, have been quite underwhelming during the most important moments.

After winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, several journalists reported that Messi was happy to sign a new contract with the club, but things have taken a turn for the worse, and now it seems very likely that he is leaving by the end of the season. The lack of comfort the player has felt at the institution, coupled with a less-than-positive relationship with the fans and mixed results on the pitch, has resulted in both parties concluding that is best to go their separate ways.

🚨 Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season. There are no doubts about that anymore.

Behind the scenes, it’s now understood that Leo’s father Jorge communicated the decision to PSG already one month ago due to the project.

It was the final breaking point. pic.twitter.com/Bwehuvyq1E

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 3, 2023

There are a lot of discussions and rumours about where Messi could go next season. The reports of a return to Barcelona have been very notorious, but the aforementioned interest in Saudi Arabia and the United States as well has been brought up. As of this writing, there is no clear notion of where Messi is going to play next season, but is very obvious that is not going to be Paris Saint Germain.