Barcelona and Real Madrid On Alert As Marco Verratti Submits Transfer Request
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti has requested to leave the club, and Barcelona are in hot pursuit, reports L’Equipe.
The Italian midfielder has informed the club’s Director of football, Antero Henrique, that he wants to leave in the summer transfer window. The 24-year-old has reportedly given up on the project at PSG, and wants to move to a bigger club.
Verratti has been left bemused with the disappointing season that PSG had in 2016/17, where they were well beaten to the Ligue 1 title, and couldn’t make significant progress in the Champions League as well.
Barcelona, who have been interested in the services of the Italian wizard for a long time, have been put on high alert in the light of the recent developments at PSG.
The Cules have tried quite a few midfielders in the recent years, with the likes of Fabregas, Rakitic, Rafinha and Andre Gomes, but they are yet to find that missing piece of the puzzle.
Other than Barcelona, Verratti has also attracted attention from clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City. The midfielder is looked upon as one of the finest technicians of his generation, and there wouldn’t be shortage of suitors if he is made available in the market.
Should a move materialize, one thing that remains for sure is that PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi won’t look to sell his talismanic midfielder on a cheap. It is expected that any acceptable bid for Verratti will have to in the range of €80 million.
Written by Shorya Panwar 
Has 20+ years of experience managing Schalke in Football Manager 2017. Believes wing-backs are the most complete footballers in the modern/evolved football. Writes weird stuff on his personal blog.