Lionel Messi has been suspended by PSG for two weeks after making an unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia.

• Legendary star set for absence
• Messi won’t train or be paid
• PSG sit top of Ligue 1

WHAT HAPPENED? Messi has been disciplined by the club, per reports from RMC Sport and L’Equipe. He travelled to Saudi Arabia, apparently without getting prior approval from the club, and will subsequently miss games against Troyes and Ajaccio. He may have even played his last match for PSG, depending on how the dust settles over the coming days. 

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi’s contract with PSG expires at the end of this season, meaning there are only three more games he will be eligible for in Ligue 1. Messi has appeared to flirt with the idea of playing in Saudi Arabia before, sharing a sponsored post from the nation on Instagram last month. He is also an tourist ambassador for the country. 

AND WHAT’S MORE: Messi has naturally been a star performer for PSG this season, scoring 15 goals and registering 15 assists in 28 Ligue 1 games. Without him, Christophe Galtier’s side will need to continue picking up results if they are to hold off second-placed Marseille, who sit five points behind them with five games to play.

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI? He has been heavily linked with a potential return to Barcelona this summer, although it remains to be seen if his former club can actually afford to facilitate a return. He will hope to round off his spell in Paris with the Ligue 1 title.

I have never seen a club prepare for a match as we did for this final,” said Toulouse president Damien Comolli after his team beat Nantes 5-1 in the Coupe de France final on Saturday. “Since the quarter-final against Rodez, we’ve gone into details that you can’t even imagine. We brought in consultants from all over Europe to help.” Toulouse’s victory shows that their considered approach is working, and there’s more to come. Not just from Toulouse – but the rest of Ligue 1’s new-age clubs too.

Playing in their first major final, Toulouse raced into a 4-0 lead in just over half an hour. Their stand-in centre-back, Logan Costa, headed home twice inside the opening 10 minutes before striker Thijs Dallinga poached two more. Unlike Toulouse, Nantes were far from ready. L’Équipe scored two of their defenders, João Victor and Jean-Charles Castelletto, just one out of 10 for their performances.

Toulouse simply outmanoeuvred Nantes in every way. On and off the pitch. Before and during the game. “Our obsession is to progress every day in everything we do – to innovate, to be different,” Comolli said. Toulouse, whose €40m (£34m) budget is less than 6% of Paris Saint-Germain’s, are one of a number of clubs across France who have a philosophy that is helping them to compete.

While PSG’s dominance can result in one-sided title races, the higher standard and increased attention brought by QSI’s billions have pushed other clubs to grow and modernise. These clubs are reaping the benefits, as shown by a series of recent cup winners. Toulouse, Nantes and Rennes have all won the Coupe de France in the last five seasons, while Strasbourg won the League Cup in 2019, the year before it was abolished. PSG won both cups four seasons in a row between 2015 and 2018, but not any more.

The physical and overly pragmatic style adopted by Ligue 1 clubs just a few years ago is disappearing rapidly. The shortened 2019-20 season produced just 2.52 goals per game but this season has reached 2.81. Dynamic, progressive coaches have replaced dour journeymen, young talents are given more prominence and the league is increasingly open to modernisation. Toulouse, along with Reims, Lens, Lorient and others, epitomise Ligue 1’s new age.