Lionel Messi has released a statement of apology over an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia that has seen PSG suspend him for two weeks.
Following Sunday’s defeat to Lorient, Messi jetted off to the gulf state on Monday for a paid promotional trip.
PSG players are typically given the day off after games if they win, but the club trained on Monday after a poor performance in a 3-1 defeat to the mid-table side.
Absent from that training was Messi, which reportedly rubbed several PSG players the wrong way.
In a video posted on Instagram, Messi said that he believed he had the day off — though he also said the trip to Saudi Arabia couldn’t be cancelled after it had previously been postponed.
“I wanted to make this video after everything that’s going on. First of all, I apologize again to my teammates at the club. I honestly thought that we were going to have the day off after the game as we had done before,” Messi said.
“I had organized this trip to Saudi Arabia, which I had previously cancelled and I couldn’t go. Once again, I apologize for what I did. So here I am, waiting to see what the club wants to do, nothing more.”
Messi will miss PSG’s next two games, against Troyes on Sunday and against Ajaccio on May 13. He won’t be paid or train during that timeframe, and there has been speculation he may never play another game for the Ligue 1 side.
The 35-year-old’s contract will expire at the end of the season, and the World Cup-winner is widely expected to move on after two seasons in the French capital.
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