Lionel Messi Appears to Snub PSG with Message to Departing Marco Veratti

• Marco Veratti ended his 11-year association with PSG as he moved to Qatari side Al Arabi
• The Italian is the second high-profile European-based player to secure a deal to Qatar this week after Phillipe Coutinho
• Among those who wished him well was Lionel Messi, who played with him at PSG for two years

Lionel Messi appeared to aim a subtle dig at his former club Paris Saint Germain with his message to former teammate Marco Veratti.

Veratti left Paris Saint Germain for the Qatari league as he joined Al Arabi for a record fee of £38.6 million, on Wednesday, September 13.

The Italian leaves France as PSG’s most decorated player, after winning an impressive nine Ligue 1 titles.

He becomes the latest big name in Europe to seal a transfer to the Middle East, as his former teammate Neymar joined Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for £77.6m, as cited by The Guardian.

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At Al Arabi, Veratti will link up with Rafinha, who also happens to be his former teammate at PSG.

Speaking to the PSG website, Veratti confirmed his departure from France, saying:

"I was very proud to wear the colours of Paris St-Germain for more than a decade, to rub shoulders with so many great players and to win 30 trophies,

Messi’s reaction

Lionel Messi, who also left Europe over the summer, was among the people who wished Veratti well after his transfer.

The Inter Miami star dedicated a post on his lucrative Instagram page to the midfielder, posting a photo of the two together with the caption:

“All the luck in your new stage @marco_verratti92!!! You already know I wish you the best always.”

However, cheeky fans in the comment section could not help but notice the image the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner posted.

Despite playing together at PSG, Messi opted against using a photo in the French club’s colours. Instead, he used a photo of himself and Veratti in their national team colours which was taken in the Finalissma on June 1 2022.

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Messi misses son’s birthday

In related news, Messi missed his son’s birthday to be with the Argentina national team.

He was part of the entourage that made the trip to the dreaded capital of La Paz in their second 2026 World Cup qualifying match.

It has now emerged that Messi had the option to go home and celebrate his son's birthday but chose to travel with his fellow World Cup champions.

The said son is Mateo, who turned 8 on September 11. It is not clear whether they (Messi's sons) travelled to Argentina with their father or remained in Miami.