“Lionel Messi and his family feel happy in Saudi Arabia despite the trip not being allowed by PSG,” Daily Mail describes.
On May 1, PSG entered the training session without Lionel Messi. The former Barcelona star and his small family moved to Saudi Arabia to perform the role of tourism ambassador for this country.
RMC Sport and L’Equipe , two famous media units in France, confirmed that M10 did not ask the permission of the PSG leader but went to the Middle East on his own. Despite disobeying the Parisian club, “El Pulga” was seen smiling while visiting famous places in Saudi Arabia.
Messi shocked PSG insiders when he boarded a flight to Saudi Arabia just hours after the defeat against Lorient. Fans when they heard the news were also not satisfied with Leo’s move. “Messi shocked PSG when he arrived in Saudi Arabia,” AS described.
The action caused the Argentine superstar to receive an internal penalty from PSG. Owners of 7 Golden Balls cannot practice, compete and receive no salary for the next two weeks.
In contrast to the bleak situation in Paris, Leo was greeted warmly in Saudi Arabia. On his personal page, the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Khateeb, wrote: “I am very pleased to welcome Messi and his family to Saudi Arabia to enjoy the magical tourist destinations and have the destination experience. real”.
Messi signed a lucrative contract that helped him pocket 25 million pounds a year with Saudi Arabia. Messi’s role is related to promoting the image and raising tourism awareness for this country.
This time marks Leo’s second visit to Saudi Arabia as ambassador. Before that, he was in Jeddah right after the deal was agreed. According to Sky Sports , Messi once missed two trips to Saudi Arabia during the season due to the influence of PSG’s tight schedule. Therefore, he could not delay further.
Messi’s trip comes at a sensitive time. It took place less than a day after PSG’s 1-3 defeat to Lorient on April 30. The action of the Argentine superstar received a wave of anger from PSG fans. Before that, the relationship between the two sides was not very good.
In the past, Messi has rarely shown undisciplined attitude at both club and national team. Argentinian public opinion raised the question “whether Messi is being turned away by PSG himself after consecutive failures in the European arena in the past two years?”.