Lionel Messi has apologised to his Paris St-Germain teammates and accepted a fine from the club after making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia following PSG’s home defeat by Lorient on Sunday. Messi, who is set to leave PSG when his contract expires in the summer, had a role as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia. In a video posted on Instagram, Messi said: “I am sorry for what I did and I wait to see what the club decides. I honestly thought we were going to have the day off after the match as had happened in the previous weeks. I had organised this trip to Saudi Arabia having cancelled it previously. This time I couldn’t cancel it.”
PSG manager Christophe Galtier said he had “nothing to do with” Messi’s suspension and condemned fan protests outside players’ homes, saying: “Leo’s suspension has added to poor performances, we can’t hide behind that. The decision was nothing to do with me. I was informed of the decision. I can’t say it has been a pleasant period.” Galtier also spoke out against the protests at Neymar’s home, saying: “Regarding the protests in front of a player’s home, we have to be careful with that. Private life must remain private. I can understand the anger, the disappointment of our fans. You may protest at the training ground or at the PSG office or after a match at the Parc des Princes but I cannot accept it at anyone’s house. There is a lot of these things happening at the moment, and they can be uncontrollable and dangerous.”
PSG currently top Ligue 1 by five points with five games to play but are out of the Champions League and lost in the last 16 of the French Cup. Neymar is out for rest of the reason because of an ankle injury.