Lionel Messi’s life resumed as he returned to training and returned to the stage to receive his Laureus of Sport trophies on Monday, after a turbulent week surrounding his sanction for his Saudi jaunt.
Around noon, Paris Saint-Germain’s sanction ended with his reappearance at Camp des Loges. “Leo Messi back in training this Monday morning,” the club said on their Twitter account, with a photo of their N.30 in action.
His banishment finally lasted six days. He had been suspended on Tuesday by PSG after an unauthorized promotional trip to Saudi Arabia, for which the “Pulga” apologized in a short video posted on Instagram.
“I apologize to my teammates and I await the club’s decision. I apologize to my partners and the club,” he explained in Spanish.
Messi missed victory at Troyes (3-1) on Sunday and could therefore return for the match of the 35th day of Ligue 1 against Ajaccio on Saturday (9:00 p.m.) at the Parc des Princes.
To complete the end of his penance, Messi received two prizes at the Laureus world sports awards on Monday evening, Place Vendôme in Paris.
He received the World Sportsman of the Year and Team of the Year awards for the selection of Argentina, which he led to victory in the World Cup in Qatar on December 18 against France (3-3, 4 tab to 2).
Half-forgiven fault
This return to the honors of France Football’s seven-time Ballon d’Or comes after the controversy over the trip to Saudi Arabia damaged his image a little.
His initial two-week suspension has been reduced on the adage that fouls admitted are half forgiven, “a more elegant way of dealing with things”, says a source at the club. “He made a mistake, he apologized, his message was clear.”
The Argentinian will be able to return to the field, where he is on the verge of a second title of champion of France, Paris counting six points ahead of Lens (2nd) four days before the end of the season.
The star will remain in the news since the rumors around his next club do not dry up. The latest from the Spanish press evokes a proposal from the Saudi giant Al Hilal, worth several hundred million euros, for a remake in the Arabian desert of his duel with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been playing at Al-Nassr since the end of the World Cup.
FC Barcelona and its financiers are still working on a clever arrangement to try to bring the prodigy son back, and David Beckham’s Inter Miami is also working to lure him into their nets.
La Pulga was filmed in deep discussion on the Laureus red carpet with Barça striker Robert Lewandowski, also present at the ceremony, an image that will revive Camp Nou’s dreams of seeing this duo in “Blaugrana”.
If his destination remains uncertain, Messi’s separation from the capital club at the end of his contract in June seems consummated. His coming to the Laureus trophies is surely one of his last appearances in Paris.
