There has been drama at the capital club this week as marquee player Lionel Messi was suspended for flying out to Saudi Arabia - as part of a sponsorship arrangement with the government there - without permission on Monday following the loss to FC Lorient in Ligue 1 Uber Eats Round 33 on Sunday.

Perhaps looking to make a statement that no player is bigger than the club, Paris Saint-Germain opted to take disciplinary action with Messi - whose contract at the Parc des Princes will come to term in June - and suspend him from training and playing for two weeks.

From the goat's mouth

While some are speculating that this could well mean that the diminutive genius has already played his last game for Paris - talk of a move to back to Barcelona or to David Beckham's Inter Miami in the MLS is rife - the man in question took to Instagram to make his position clear.

"Hello. Well, I wanted to make this video after everything that's going on. First of all, I apologise again to my team-mates at the club. I honestly thought that we were going to have the day off after the game as we had done before. I had organised this trip to Saudi Arabia, which I had previously cancelled and I couldn't go. Once again, I apologise for what I did. So here I am, waiting to see what the club wants to do, nothing more. A hug."

Sidelined

Messi will be on the bench as Paris Saint-Germain take on cellar-dwellers Troyes on Sunday evening, and will also have to watch on as Ajaccio visit the Parc des Princes in Round 35. He will be eligible to make his return to action in the Round 36 clash with Auxerre on 21 May.