PSG forward Lionel Messi has returned to PSG training following his faceoff with the club last week.
After a shock 3-1 defeat to Lorient in French Ligue 1, Messi undertook a trip to Saudi Arabia to honor his £25m-a-year ambassadorial deal with the Gulf State.
His trip was met with fire and fury by PSG hierachy as they deemed it “unauthorized” since it clashed with a rescheduled training session called by PSG manager Christophe Galtier.
After the Lorient defeat, Christophe Galtier reportedly canceled the usual day offs for players after each matchdays. The former Nice manager, apparently angry with the shock home defeat to Lorient, summoned all the players for a training session the next day.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi had planned up the day off for a trip to Saudi Arabia.
He skipped the rescheduled training session by Galtier and proceeded on the trip as planned.
Messi was spotted in Saudi Arabia with his wife Antonella Rocuzzo and two children Mateo and Ciro while the Parisians were in training for the next match against Troyes.
Messi’s trip was interpreted as an act of defiance and a breach of the terms of contract. He was slammed with a two-week ban from the squad and was set to miss two French Ligue 1 action before reinstatement.
Immediately after the ban by PSG, Lionel Messi tendered a groveling apology to his teammates and the club’s hierarchy for the “unauthorized trip.”
According to him, he did not intentionally defied the club by going on the trip but had thought the club will observe normal day-offs after the Lorient game.
The Barcelona legend added he had planned for the trip before the rescheduled training session and could not postpone the trip because he had postponed it before.
Now, according to Daily Mail, Lionel Messi is back to PSG fold after the ban. He was spotted training with the team on Monday.
PSG shared a tweet of the 2022 World Cup hero in PSG training session after the faceoff to confirm the ban has been lifted.
Apparently, PSG’s reversal of the ban must have followed Lionel Messi’s unreserved apology after the faceoff.
The two parties seems to have reconciled and mended the broken relationship after the clash.
However, Futballnews understand Lionel Messi fractured relationship with PSG is far from being settled.
Lionel Messi will leave PSG at the end of the season. His PSG contract will expire on June 30.
He has been linked to return to Camp Nou with Barcelona confirming they had contacted him to work out his return to the club.
Messi has also been linked to a move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal reportedly offering him a record £260m-a-year deal to join the club.
Spanish media outlets report Lionel Messi has reached an agreement to join Al-Hilal at the end of the summer.
However, Deportivo Mundo says the reported agreement has been countered by Lionel Messi representatives and that Messi will take a decision on his future on June 4 when the 2022/23 Ligue 1 comes to an end.
As things stand, Messi is on the exit lane from Parc des Princes despite the seeming handshake of understanding after the ban.
