After an already very lively summer transfer window, Paris Saint-Germain announced a resounding transfer this Wednesday.
This time, it’s over. After an 11-year adventure in Paris, Marco Verratti leaves the capital club to begin a new chapter in his career on another continent, in Asia, in Qatar. PSG have confirmed the transfer of the small Italian midfielder to Al-Arabi.
Verratti signed his new contract after passing the traditional medical examination. There was little suspense over the outcome of this series since images of his arrival in the Gulf had been leaking for 24 hours. With a pinched face, black t-shirt and beige Bermuda shorts, the Italian even said a few words to Alkass TVSport, a local media outlet, before posing with his new jersey. “I’m very happy, I can’t wait to start this season. I hope that we will have a good season, that we will have a lot of desire. I can’t wait to discover everything, the stadium, the supporters, the club, my teammates, the coach”.
Ciao, little owl
The departure of Marco Verratti is akin to a small earthquake in the ranks of Paris Saint-Germain. It is as if the Italian had become the symbol, despite himself, of a sudden, exciting but brutal change of era. Dismissed on the other side of the world, Verratti had always proclaimed his love for PSG and France, his adopted country. He had learned its codes, habits and customs, had become a man there and had adopted the language.
Thrill player par excellence, the one we nicknamed “ the little owl » had all the assets of the darling of the Porte de Saint-Cloud: talent, candor, passion, audacity, elegance, a touch of irreverence and a zest of insolence. Verratti was a bit of all that. It was a silky technique, devastating ball exits, luminous passes, an ability to escape from intense pressing with the head raised and the phlegm of a playground kid. An incorrigible temperament, bickering with the referees, goals that can be counted on the fingers of one hand and repeated cards.
Record holder for the number of French championship titles (9), Marco Verratti will leave an indelible mark for his record and his longevity. Arriving anonymously in 2012 from Pescara, he was the longest-serving player in the club’s squad.
Paris Saint-Germain lovers will remember the trio formed with Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi to allow the club to establish its superiority on a national scale throughout the first part of the project. What followed was more mixed, between repeated crashes and periods of redemption, incessant criticism and tiring campaigns. But when it comes time to take stock, Verratti will perhaps remain the most striking face of the QSI era, “ the most talented player we have seen“, as Ibrahimović, Neymar, Mbappé and Messi repeated over and over again. A sort of link between eras and egos. Ciao, Marco.
