Messi apologizes for travel to Saudi Arabia

PARIS, May 6: Lionel Messi has apologized to his Paris Saint-Germain teammates for an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia and said he will wait for the club's decision. The club has suspended the Argentinian captain for two weeks for the tour.

Messi arrived in Saudi Arabia after PSG's home loss against Lorient on Sunday. This was PSG's third defeat in the last six games. Messi said in a video posted on Instagram, "I'm sorry for what I did and I'm waiting to see what the club decides. I honestly thought we would have the day off after the game, which has been the case in the previous weeks. I had canceled an earlier trip to Saudi Arabia, but this time I could not do that." The 35-year-old player is in the role of tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia.

Messi is set to leave PSG after his contract expires at the end of this season. Meanwhile, PSG manager Christophe Gaultier said he had "nothing to do" with Messi's suspension, and condemned the fan protests outside the players' home.