Lionel Messi on Friday apologised for going on an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia that led to Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain being suspended by his club Paris Saint-Germain.

“I want to apologise obviously to my teammates and to the club,” Messi said in a video posted on Instagram to his 458 million followers.

He was suspended by the Qatar-owned club after failing to turn up for training on Monday, a day after their 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1.

Instead, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner travelled to Saudi Arabia without PSG’s permission to fulfil commitments as part of a contract with the country’s tourist office.

“I honestly thought we were going to have the day off after the match as had happened in the previous weeks,” he said.

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