Lionel Messi is set to return for Paris Saint-Germain after serving his in-house suspension.
The World Cup winner was told to stay away from training after taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia for a sponsorship deal.
He was initially given a two-week suspension by the club, despite the player thinking he had a day off when he travelled abroad. He was subsequently left out of the 3-1 win over Troyes last weekend.
The Sporting News looks at whether Messi will return for PSG’s next match against Ajaccio.
Will Lionel Messi play against Ajaccio?
After everything unfolded, Messi posted a public apology to his team-mates and the club as he claimed he was unable to postpone his commercial duties for a second time.
Lionel Messi’s apology video to PSG 👀 pic.twitter.com/LPt0etyEbF
— GOAL (@goal) May 5, 2023
The PSG board were happy enough with the statement and allowed Messi to return to training this week. Christophe Galtier was asked whether the winger would play against Ajaccio, to which he replied:
“I spoke to Lionel Messi about his return on Tuesday to see what kind of mindset he was in. He was very calm, and I thought that he was very motivated to play and determined to win another trophy. Yes, he will start.”
Although those at the club have forgiven Messi, the reception from the fans at the Parc des Princes could well be negative. A group of supporters have expressed their desire to see both the Argentinian and Neymar leave the club.
MORE: Why was Lionel Messi suspension at PSG cut short?
Has Lionel Messi been suspended before?
There is a good chance Messi’s suspension was cut short due to his positive history. The 35-year-old rarely gets suspended, with his last red card coming back in 2021 for Barcelona.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has only received three red cards throughout his career, two for Argentina and one for Barcelona. He was actually sent off on his debut for the national team as the referee thought he elbowed his opponent in the face, which was a very harsh call.
His other red card for Argentina came in the 2019 Copa America third-place playoff against Chile. He then accused CONMEBOL, the football governing body for South America, of corruption and was suspended for three more games.
PSG remaining schedule
PSG are six points clear at the top of the table with just four games to go. The earliest PSG can mathematically secure the title is on Saturday, May 27, but that is if Lens lose their next two games.
Messi will be expected to play in each of those four games for PSG, but his future beyond that is in doubt as both Barcelona and Al Hilal could battle it out for his signature.
| Opponent | Date |
|---|---|
| Ajaccio (H) | Saturday, May 13 |
| Auxerre (A) | Sunday, May 21 |
| Strasbourg (A) | Saturday, May 27 |
| Clermont (H) | Saturday, June 3 |