Lionel Messi is said to have blatantly disobeyed his manager Christophe Galtier following Paris Saint-Germain's shock defeat to Lorient on the weekend.
PSG's Ligue 1 title chase was disrupted when the 10th-placed club claimed a surprise 3-1 away win over the home side at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
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The result marked the first time Les Parisiens have conceded three goals in a league game since their Qatari ownership took over the team back in the 2011/12 season.
While PSG still maintain a five-point lead at the top of the table with just five games to go, cracks within the team are evidently starting to appear, with Galtier said to have been left upset by his side's ninth defeat in 2023.
Speaking in a post-match press conference on Sunday, the French tactician accused some of his players of being sub-par in recent games.
"We have too many players below their level in this second half of the season," he said, according to PSGtalk.
"We just have to make the players react. We can't have this kind of content... Overall, it's a big disappointment. We have to react quickly."
Despite his strong words after the match, however, the manager was seemingly left blindsided by Messi, who flew out to Saudi Arabia just hours after the game despite Galtier and sporting director Luis Campos refusing his request to do so.
According to L'Equipe, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had gone over their heads and approached the club's hierarchy for permission for the trip to Gulf state, for whom he is a tourism ambassador.
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It is believed he travelled to Riyadh for a business trip, with Saudi Arabia hopeful of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, and would miss PSG training sessions ahead of their next match against Troyes this coming Sunday as a result.
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