Lionel Messi is training with Paris Saint-Germain again, the Ligue 1 team said on Monday, after the forward was suspended for making a trip to Saudi Arabia and missing a training session as a result.
French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with the squad the day after the Ligue 1 leaders' 3-1 defeat to Lorient last month.
The latest chapter of Lionel Messi’s unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia came on Friday when he posted a video on his Instagram story of him apologizing to his teammates. The Messi apology video is 37 seconds long in which he claims it was all a misunderstanding.
If you’re out of the loop on events, then here’s a quick timeline.
Lionel Messi's future with PSG is wobbly. Fans are not enthusiastic about him, he doesn't look particularly thrilled about being there and talks regarding a possible return to FC Barcelona are gaining momentum. And then – on top of that – you have an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia that is angering PSG teammates and the sporting hierarchy at the club.
PSG welcomed mid-table Lorient to the Parc des Princes on Sunday and slumped to a 3-1 defeat after Achraf Hakimi was sent off in the 20th-minute for a studs-up tackle on Darlin Yongwa that earned him a second yellow.
The massive spotlight on Paris Saint-Germain from earlier this season has flickered and remains on a dim setting. PSG are out of the Champions League, eliminated from the French Cup, lost Neymar for the rest of the season and have a relatively comfortable lead in Ligue 1.
There aren’t any big matches left on the schedule for the Paris club with just a handful of league matches against midtable or lower Ligue 1 sides. A sobering end to a season with so many expectations.
On Friday PSG defeated bottom of the table Angers 2-1 courtesy of a Kylian Mbappé brace.
Do you miss Neymar? Well, here's a non-soccer-related update: he's going to be a father.
The Brazilian started the 2022-23 campaign flying high, scoring, assisting and bringing a good dose of football champagne for PSG. Some even argue that he was making a solid case to be considered for fancy awards like the Ballon d'Or. However, injuries returned to haunt him during the World Cup and then ended his season by mid-February.
Way too early!
Since then, the player has been mostly playing video games online and losing sponsored money in poker.
Early Thursday morning, Amazon Prime Video Sport released a video on social media highlighting the difficulties and intricacies involved in being a top-flight match official. The clip showed Benoît Millot, a French referee taking control of a Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyonnais and FC Nantes, and gave fans a great insight into what match officials go through over 90 minutes.
This is what referees really say to footballers during a game... ️
Looking at the Ligue 1 standings, it's safe to say that bottom-of-the-table Angers are destined for relegation.
On Sunday, the club travelled to mid-table Clermont Foot in one of the most unremarkable matches across France this weekend, meaning it was up to the supporters to largely entertain themselves at Clermont's modest Stade Gabriel Montpied.
The traveling Angers fans — hoping to witness just a fourth victory in 31 attempts — had a little corner to themselves and could be seen wearing black for the first 20 minutes.
There was an interesting moment during Saturday's MLS 360 show when analyst Shep Messing said he had "inside info" on a Lionel Messi move to MLS and that "it is going to happen and it's going to happen soon."
Like any great amateur sleuth, I then carefully watched PSG's home match against Lyon on Sunday looking for clues. I think I found them: Messi wants to get out of Paris like a bat out of hell.
Before the 2022 World Cup, the idea of Lionel Messi extending his contract with French multi-champion PSG seemed a safe bet. Back from Qatar, however, that certainty has started to crumble and the leading narrative around the player's future is pointing to a sensational return to Barcelona.
Of course, there are a lot of rumors going around, but the blaugranas fans are feeling optimistic after the club's vice-president Rafa Yuste and coach Xavi spoke on Friday about how much they wish for Messi's return to the team.