Lionel Messi apologizes to teammates over Saudi Arabia trip

Lionel Messi has apologized to his teammates at Paris Saint Germain while admitting he didn’t know he had not been given permission to fly out of the country.

The former Barcelona starman took a trip to Saudi Arabia following their defeat to Lorient on Sunday where the Argentine played the 90 minutes.

He has subsequently been suspended by the club for two matches and it has also been reported that his contract will not be renewed when it expires in June.

In the midst of the chaos created by his decision, the mercurial attacker has come out to apologize to his teammates’ whiles stating that he is waiting for the club’s decision on him. He explained that he had the trip planned already and had previously cancelled one.

“I thought we were going to have a day off after the game as always. I had this trip organized and I couldn’t cancel it. I had already cancelled it before,” Messi is quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

“I apologize to my teammates and I’m waiting for what the club wants to do with me,” he said in the video shared on Twitter by the Italian journalist.

The Argentine has had a rough time in Paris since switching the Nou Camp for the Parc des Princes in 2021. He has constantly been criticized by PSG fans who accused him of being less committed to the club.

A report by Marca in March said the French club wants o renew the Argentine’s contract but his financial demands were an issue as the French giants work to avoid breaching Financial Fair Play laws.

Reported interests have also been coming from Saudi Arabia where he is an ambassador as the country seeks to win the 2030 World Cup bid. A move to the middle east will reunite him with his long-time rival Christiano Ronaldo who joined from Manchester United in January.

A return to former club Barcelona has also been discussed but the Catalan club would have to offload several top earners at the club. That won’t even be enough unless the Argentine takes a massive pay cut before a move can be facilitated to the cash-strapped La Liga leaders.