![]() His ties with PSG may be coming to end, however. Uncertainty about Messi's next destination The 2034 Asian Games are in Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia won a bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in a futuristic mountains resort, Trojena, that is not yet built.Īll of this, of course, is way above Messi's head but his decision-making over the past two years has placed him front and centre in this regional contest. Doha will host the multi-sport Asian Games in 2030 and Qatar is widely expected to launch another campaign to host an Olympics in the city, this time in 2036. FIFA warns Europe of Women's World Cup broadcast blackout unless rights fees are improved.The AFC then awarded Saudi Arabia the 2027 edition - a likely audition for ambitions to stage a future World Cup, possibly in 2034. Qatar stepped up when China handed back hosting rights to the 2023 edition, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, and that tournament will start in Doha in January. The neighbours and rivals were competing to host the 2027 Asian Cup, until a solution emerged that rewarded both. Since elections in February, the presidents of the Saudi and Qatari soccer federations - Yasser Almisehal and Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, respectively - are members of the FIFA Council, the executive body that makes the decisions in world soccer. The presidency of the Asian Football Confederation is vacant in 2027 and both have potential candidates lined up. Indeed, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are engaged in a proxy battle to be the epicentre of Asian soccer. It would make interesting reading for PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of QSI and beIN Media Group, which has been the victim of broadcasting piracy in Saudi Arabia in recent years. Other aspects of the trip included "feeding the indigenous Arabian gazelles," while the Messis apparently also were "charmed by the authenticity and architecture of At-Turaif and the beauty of the Arabian horses." In the wake of Messi's resulting suspension, the Saudi Tourism Authority released a long statement detailing the movements of the man it called a "football icon" and his family on a day he was supposed to still be in France. Instead, the team trained on Monday and had Tuesday off. Hence this week's trip to the kingdom, which he decided to make without PSG's permission and covering a period when the squad had been asked to train in response to the team's 3-1 loss at home against Lorient on Sunday.Īccording to French daily L'Equipe, PSG coach Christophe Galtier had pledged to give his players Monday and Tuesday off if they beat Lorient. Messi placed himself in an even more delicate position last year when, just a few months before the World Cup in Qatar, he signed up to be essentially an ambassador for Saudi Arabia. Immediately, it thrust Messi into the hands of the Qataris, given QSI is a subsidiary of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, and invited accusations against him of sportswashing. The Argentina forward never intended to be playing for PSG, a club owned by Qatar Sports Investments, but found himself moving there in 2021 after previous team Barcelona, the soccer love of his life, plunged into financial problems that still persist. Gunmen leave Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi a menacing message.Messi, Putellas each voted best players at FIFA awards for 2nd consecutive year.Messi is right in the middle of it all, through his own making and because everyone - inside and outside the game - wants a piece of one of the all-time greats. It also exposes the tensions now that Qatar and Saudi Arabia - gulf neighbours and fierce recent rivals in regional politics - have become major influencers in the world of soccer. It looks like it will be a disappointing end to a turbulent and somewhat underwhelming two-season spell at a club where soap opera-style drama, on and off the field, is rarely far away given the presence of other superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the squad. It was an expensive trip for the recent World Cup winner, who won't get paid or be allowed to train or play with the team during his suspension. Messi was supposed to be training alongside his teammates on Monday, but was instead in Saudi Arabia, holding a falcon on his arm, watching a palm-weaving demonstration and looking around the Arabian Horse Museum as part of his commercial contract with the kingdom to promote tourism there. PSG suspends Messi for unapproved trip to Saudi Arabia.His suspension and news of his impending exit comes at a time when PSG is embroiled in an increasingly fraught French league title race. ![]()
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