Xavi won’t give opinion on Messi
The Barcelona boss wouldn’t give his two cents on Lionel Messi’s PSG suspension following an unauthorized visit to Saudi Arabia.
Just as talks of Lionel Messi potentially making a move back to Barcelona when his PSG contract comes to an end this summer were heating up, the Argentinian was suspended from the French club. Leading to the suspension was an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, which he took the day after PSG lost to Lorient.
How much time will Leo Messi miss and when will he return?
If PSG had won the game against Lorient, they would have had more days of rest and Messi’s trip would have been fine, but since they lost, they held a training the next day, which Messi missed. He’s been suspended for two weeks without pay and will not train with the team during that time. He will miss the Ligue 1 games against Troyes and Ajaccio, but could be back by the game against Auxerre on May 21.
Messi’s future - in Barcelona?
As Messi’s contract with PSG comes to an end in just a few months, he has a decision to make - stay with PSG or move elsewhere? He reportedly wanted to wait and see what PSG’s plans for the coming season are before making a final decision, but there’s no shortage of interest.
Messi was offered a one-year deal for £400 million to play for Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, but it’s unclear if his trip there is related to that offer. There has also been talks of Messi making a return to his former home at Barcelona. As much as Barca would welcome that, they have their own financial issues to work through, and in fact, when asked his opinion on Messi’s current situation, manager Xavi said as much.
“Lionel Messi has reportedly been suspended for two weeks and can’t travel with them,” said a reporter. “Do you think this is the last straw before he thinks about coming back to Barca?”
“I don’t know. I have to make too many decisions here to give my opinion about another club or another player, in this case Messi,” said Xavi. “I don’t know what happened, I don’t know the situation, so I can’t give my opinion.”
Last week, Xavi said Barca is focusing first on winning LaLiga before they think about bringing on any new players for next season.