Lionel Messi looks to have played his last match for Paris Saint Germain and remains determined to move back to Barcelona despite the Spanish club’s financial troubles.
Messi has been suspended for two weeks without pay by the French club after he missed Monday’s training session without permission.
The player was fulfilling a commercial commitment in Saudi Arabia where he is a tourism ambassador.
His trip to Riyadh had been arranged on a day-off but the players were called in Monday after they lost 3-1 to Lorient at the weekend.
The severity of the punishment – he will not be able to enter club facilities and misses two Ligue 1 games against Troyes and Ajaccio – appears to confirm suspicions that the Ligue 1 leaders are planning next season without the 35-year-old.
Lionel Messi didn’t train at Paris Saint-Germain on Monday as the players were called in
The Argentine posed with his family in Saudi Arabia during an unauthorised visit
When Messi’s ban ends there will only be three games left and the player’s focus is now on finding a club for next season.
On Wednesday the expectation in Barcelona was that Messi would return to the city with his family in the coming days amid suggestions he is willing to do whatever it takes to re-sign for the club.
Barcelona’s problem is registering Messi’s contract with La Liga whose rules oblige the club to lose around 200m euros from their current wage bill before they register new players.
Even if Messi agrees to pay for a nominal fee – something that sources close to the player suggest he has not ruled out – La Liga would still oblige Barcelona to register the player’s wages at the market rate leaving them struggling to balance their squad spend inside the league-imposed permitted limit.
It remains unclear as to what the future holds for Messi, who has been suspended by PSG
Messi posed with his wife Antonella during photos in Saudi Arabia, where he had pre-arranged a visit for one of his commercial commitments as an ambassador for tourism on Wednesday.
The World Cup winner signed a £25m-a-year deal with Saudi Arabia last year to become a tourism ambassador.
While PSG players were scheduled to have a day off on Monday, following their 3-1 loss to Lorient, Christophe Galtier called the squad in for training.
Messi was already on his way to Saudi Arabia, however, and could not turn back to attend and missed training.
David Beckham’s Inter Miami have also been linked with a move for the 35-year-old, who will not be short of options upon the expiry of his PSG deal this summer.
SRC: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
