Paris, May 3 (PL) - The departure of Argentinean star Lionel Messi from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the end of this season was always among the possibilities, but no one imagined a break with sanction included, which seems to happen.
Last night the news of the footballer's suspension for his business trip to Saudi Arabia circulated, disclosed by the RMC Sport channel, information that spread like wildfire, unleashing various reactions and rumors around the Qatar-2022 world champion and his future.
The 35-year-old player missed yesterday's training session with the club, as he was in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, due to a contract with the Kingdom's Tourist Board, a trip he made with his family, without authorization - they claim - from the red-and-blue team, which seeks with the Ligue 1 title to mitigate somewhat the bad season.
Although PSG has not made the punishment official, the sanction of two weeks without playing, training and pay, which would have been announced the day before to Leo by the sports adviser Luis Campos, according to the radio station France Bleu, is already vox populi.
Messi's reaction is not known either, rather little given to public statements, so the soccer planet is now at the mercy of journalists and media, some much more serious than others in their stories.
"The divorce process is underway," headlined this morning the daily Le Parisien, which closely follows the capital club, mired in another disappointing campaign, with nine defeats in total, including those suffered against Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the Champions League, whose conquest is still pending.
The 48-hour getaway five thousand kilometers away from Paris would be the beginning of the end of the relationship, according to the newspaper, although not a few had been calling for weeks, perhaps months, for the tree to be shaken, with the alleged aim of turning PSG into a winning team with Kylian Mbappé as its leader, rather than a constellation of superstars.
Since the beginning of March, after the elimination from the Champions League, the movement of recognized and authoritative voices calling for an earthquake, which passes through the departure of Messi or Neymar, or even both, was accentuated.
At the time, former Paris player and current consultant David Ginola considered it urgent to build a team, over and above the idea of bringing in talent, while 1998 World Cup winner with Les Bleus Bixente Lizarazu accused the club of being full of "rock stars".
