Just a few short hours after Paris Saint-Germain were defeated at home by Lorient, Lionel Messi boarded a flight to Saudi Arabia with his family.
Despite Kylian Mbappe scored a very strange goal, Christophe Galtier’s team was defeated 3-1 at the Parc des Princes. Enzo Le Fee, Darwin Yongwa, and Bamba Dieng all found the back of the net throughout the match, which resulted in Achraf Hakimi receiving a red card.
PSG suffered their sixth loss of the season in Ligue 1, but they still hold a five point lead over the second place team.
On Sunday, they will play Troyes in an effort to get back on track, but Messi, their star, is going to have quite the reversal.
Before taking off for the Middle East, where he is expected to stay a “few days,” Le Parisien reports that Lionel Messi participated in the entirety of the Lorient loss, playing all ninety minutes of the match.
The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or was photographed at the airport in Riyadh, which is also the location where his long-time adversary Cristiano Ronaldo is based as part of his lucrative deal with Al Nassr. Ronaldo is currently playing for Al Nassr.
A year ago, Messi traveled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he spent time exploring Jeddah and taking in views of the Red Sea. The following month, in January, he played for Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly match against a Riyadh XI led by Ronaldo.
Because of Messi’s work as a Saudi tourist ambassador, this will be his third trip to the kingdom, and he is required to make it per the terms of the contract he signed.
Lionel Messi and his family are currently on their second holiday in Saudi Arabia, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to them. “We are happy to share with you all our traditional Saudi hospitality,” said Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia.
A number of photographs that show Lionel Messi and his family in Saudi Arabia have been made public, and Messi himself tweeted on social media praising the country just before he left.
On Instagram, he posed the question, “Who would have thought Saudi Arabia has so much green?” I enjoy taking advantage of any opportunity that allows me to discover its hidden treasures.
According to The Athletic, Lionel Messi may very well be paid $25 million per year from Saudi Arabia in exchange for his promotion of the country.
