The unprecedented two-week suspension of Lionel Messi, decreed by Paris Saint-Germain following the forward’s unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia this week, could signal the start of a new approach with regard to the club’s management of its star players.
In a Q&A session this afternoon, L’Équipe journalist Loïc Tanzi explains that the club is now determined to apply the same standards to every player in the squad, no matter their status.
Nevertheless, not all breaches in conduct will be sanctioned in the same way, and the club will take into account their severity – for instance, Kylian Mbappé’s public criticism of the club’s season ticket renewal campaign is not as severe as Lionel Messi leaving the country and skipping a training session.
This new approach, which follows club president Nasser Al Khelaifi’s stated intention to end the era of “bling-bling” at the club, can also be seen as corresponding with this summer’s transfer strategy – less focused on signing stars, and more on building a team of young players, preferably French, around Kylian Mbappé.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
