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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.
Messi PSG fallout timeline
- April 30: PSG suffer an embarrassing 3-1 home defeat to Lorient.
- April 30: PSG players were promised two days off if they were to defeat Lorient. The two-day vacation is canceled after the loss.
- May 1: Messi takes his family on a trip to Saudi Arabia without PSG’s permission. Messi has a contract with Saudi Arabia’s tourism.
- May 3: PSG suspend Messi for two weeks because of his unauthorized trip.
- May 3: Top reporter Fabrizio Romano reports that Messi will leave PSG at the end of the season. A mega-money move to Al Hilal looks likely.
- May 3: PSG fans protest criticizing Messi, the club and demanding Neymar leaves.
- May 5: Messi posts an apology video.
Messi apology video
Lionel Messi's apology video to PSG pic.twitter.com/LPt0etyEbF
— GOAL (@goal) May 5, 2023
“I apologize again to my teammates at the club,” Messi said. “I honestly thought that we were going to have the day off after the game as we had done before.
“I had organized this trip to Saudi Arabia which I had previously canceled, and I couldn’t go.”
It’s interesting that Messi only apologized to his teammates in the video and not the club or the fans.
With Messi suspended for PSG’s next two games that only leaves three left he could potentially feature in. You get the feeling that Messi might have played his last game for the club.
It’s clear from the protesting and jeers he gets at games that the fans don’t want him. The divorce between PSG and Messi isn’t pretty and perhaps they should just split paths now.
I think we can all agree that when Messi retires, he’ll always be remembered as a Barcelona and Argentina legend. These past two seasons with PSG are like the weird and hated spin-off season of a beloved show that everyone kind of ignores.
If Messi has played his last game with the club, he finishes with 71 appearances and 65 goal contributions (31 goals, 34 assists), likely two Ligue 1 titles and two UCL Round of 16 appearances.
