Lionel Messi has issued an apology to his Paris Saint-Germain teammates after being suspended by the club for two weeks.
Messi, who is a free agent in the summer, made an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia shortly after playing in PSG’s 3-1 home Ligue 1 defeat to Lorient on Sunday.
He was subsequently reprimanded by the club and protests by the supporters followed.
READ ALSO: Paris Saint-Germain suspend Lionel Messi for 2 weeks
Taking to Instagram with a video address in the aftermath of his ban, he said: “Hello, well, I wanted to make this video after everything that is happening.
“First of all, I apologize to my teammates, to the club. Honestly, I thought we were going to have a day off after the game, as had been happening in previous weeks.
“I had this trip to Arabia organized and I couldn’t cancel it. I had already cancelled it before.
“I repeat again and apologize for what I did. Here I am, waiting for what the club decides.”
READ ALSO: Saudi Arabia lure Lionel Messi with a £320m-a-year deal
In his pre-match conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Troyes, PSG manager Christophe Galtier said he had nothing to do with the club’s decision to suspend Messi.
“I was informed by the board at the start of the week of the decision to suspend Messi. When I was informed, I had the responsibility of not commenting on it.
“I’m employed by the club and that is my role… The decision was nothing to do with me. I was informed of the decision.
“Leo’s suspension has added to poor performances, we can’t hide behind that… I can’t say it has been a pleasant period. There’s a target to achieve, players are working hard. We are focused and committed.”
Following a poor of run of form – PSG have lost three of their past six league games – discontent has been growing amongst fans and on Wednesday, some supporters gathered outside the home of Neymar, chanting for him to leave the club.
“Regarding the protests in front of a player’s home, we have to be careful with that. Private life must remain private,” said Galtier.
“I can understand the anger, the disappointment of our fans. You may protest at the training ground or at the PSG office, or after a match at the Parc des Princes but I cannot accept it at anyone’s house.
“There are a lot of these things happening at the moment, and they can be uncontrollable and dangerous”.
