The Lionel Messi era at PSG is over… he has showed how stars treat club as a celebrity playground
If Nasser Al-Khelaifi possessed the capacity for self-reflection and possessed a spark of humility, then so should the humiliating and bitter end to Paris St. Germain’s love affair with Lionel Messi, a romance that seemed lukewarm at best on both sides. see the president step down from his duties as mastermind of the club.
Eleven years into the project, PSG remain the chuckling share of European football, with domestic trophies becoming less and less significant due to their gargantuan wealth, while the Midas Touch is reversed when it comes to spending.
Sports washing is to cover your human rights violations and make your nation-state look good: see Manchester City and Abu Dhabi for details. But if PSG is a reflection of Qatar, you would have to conclude that their core values are celebrity worship, excessive materialism and lavish spending.
Late on Tuesday night, PSG discovered a backbone and took the first steps towards becoming something more than a celebrity playground for young multi-millionaires to play as a professional footballer. They have suspended Lionel Messi for two weeks and fined him the same wages for prioritizing his visit as a tourism ambassador to Saudi Arabia over Monday’s training.
If Nasser Al-Khelaifi (left) had any humility, then the acrimonious end of PSG’s love affair with Lionel Messi (right) should also see him resign as president
Messi, pictured in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, has been suspended by PSG for two weeks and fined the same amount after prioritizing travel to the country over training
The consequences mean the end of a lukewarm love affair between Messi and the Parisian club
The background of the story tells you what has become a hollowed-out parody of a football club PSG. They will probably still win the French league, but even with the richest state in the world blowing their rivals to smithereens financially and with Messi and Kylian Mbappé in the squad, they can’t be 100 per cent sure. Yet they are still five points clear with five to play and their closest rivals, Lens and Marseille, play each other next Saturday, so they can’t both mount a late challenge.
The reason the title is even up for debate is that PSG lost 3-1 at home to mid-table Lorient on Sunday, their third home defeat in four games. The jeers and whistles around the Parc des Princes tell their own story of a lack of commitment and dedication from a disjointed and listless team. This is a club that added Messi and got worse.
The problem is that by signing Messi, you’re also meeting a global advertising hamster with commitments that go beyond your immediate needs. In Messi’s case, it’s his willingness to be a human rights shield for, awkwardly, Qatar’s biggest regional rival, Saudi Arabia.
Messi had twice postponed a trip to the kingdom to promote tourism there because of the optics, as they did after PSG defeats. But with players scheduled for two days off after the Lorient match, it seemed safe to reschedule so his PR team could post unconvincing Instagram stories about the lush Saudi landscape. (Memo to Team Messi: If this is really the best thing to do, best say nothing; just count the money and do your best to blacken Jamal Khashoggi who chases your dreams)
The problem was that Messi hadn’t counted on Lorient (one win in eight) to sweep aside PSG, who had sent off Achraf Hakimi after 20 minutes. Lorient’s opening goal came after an excellent run of 25 passes, with Romaine Faivre, Enzo Le Fée and Darlin Yongwa all shining in the match. Such a cowardly defeat definitely falls into the ‘something has to be done’ category and unfortunately for Messi, it fell under the classic of that genre: day off canceled, extra training on Monday.
Messi representatives say he was on the flight before the schedule change, was unable to cancel this trip again after all arrangements were made and has always been professional. Penny for Kylian Mbappé’s thoughts as he sat through Galtier’s video dissection of a dismal performance, knowing his fellow superstar was in the Arabian dessert and busy on Insta earning Riyals from his second job. It’s not a look that immediately says #excusestothefans #wegoagain.
Messi representatives say he was on a flight for PSG’s loss to Lorient at the weekend
That defeat changed their schedule and Christophe Galtier sent his players in on Monday
If Galtier (pictured) has anything on him, Messi will definitely not be playing for PSG again
It definitely marks the end of the Messi era at PSG, notable for nothing but the mandatory two league titles. Will he even be on the field if and when they wrap up this title? If Galtier knows anything about him, surely Messi won’t play for PSG again after the two-week suspension? The reception at the Parc des Princes, where he’s already been booed and laughed at, would probably be furious if he condescended to show up.
As such, he is likely to join Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia next season, where his ambassador duties can be easily adapted to his occasional training/playing needs and where he can resume his rivalry with Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo. It would be unkind to remind him of his compatriot Jorge Luis Borges’ line about ‘two bald men fighting over a comb’, as there is a real football culture and passionately followed competition in Saudi Arabia. But there also seems to be a willingness to serve a retirement home for the greats.
This seems to be his only likely financially viable option (how much money is enough? A little more!), unless Barca somehow manages to come up with another financial magic trick and convince La Liga that they can replenish their squad and Messi contract again. This courtship has been a protracted media dance that seems more performative than substantial. No self-respecting Barca president could seem unwilling to sign Messi and so this story will go on and on for now.
But in reality, the spotlight should be on PSG. How can they put together a team that seasoned observers say is the worst of the 11-year Qatari era? If they had been a true sports project over the last 11 years, they could have had Parisians like Mike Maignan, Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Ibrahima Konaté, N’Gole Kanté, Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez and Randal Kolo Muani alongside Mbappé.
They can persuade Zinedine Zidane to bring some sense to the madhouse next season. But for those who see the club as a reality TV show masquerading as a sports franchise, then Antonio Conte, with his unique man management and disregard for presidential opinions, is the appointment we should all hope for.
Messi is likely to end up with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia next season, where his ambassador duties can easily be taken care of
He may also resume his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) who plays at Al-Nassr
The German referee’s confession is refreshing to hear
It won’t make Jude Bellingham feel any better as Borussia Dortmund again squandered their lead at the top of the Bundesliga last week with a 1-1 draw in Bochum, but it was surprising to England’s eyes to see referee Sascha Stegemann handle the media and apologize for what was clearly a terrible decision not to award a penalty to BvB when Karim Adeyemi was bludgeoned to the ground by Danilo Soares.
“It’s a foul and a penalty,” said Stegemann, who added that he “felt bad.” This business of standing up for your mistakes will never catch on.
Naples holds its breath…again
And so to Udinese, on the Slovenian border, and about as far from Naples as you can get in Italy, for the next attempt to set fire to the mother of all sides, with Napoli needing a point on Thursday to win their first Serie A A title since 1990.
Local authorities were so concerned that the festivities would get so out of hand last Sunday, when a victory over Salernitana would have been enough, that they warned fans not to go through with a plan to light torches to celebrate Mount Vesuvius. Given the city’s checkered history with the volcano, you might think that any attempt to illuminate it would be best avoided.