Yes, PSG was right to get rid of Marco Verratti
Why turn a blind eye to the Marco Verratti case after opening them to Neymar? The Italian environment will not change, and for many, it has never even evolved. What has he improved since his first season at PSG? The technique was already there, the insolence too with risks almost never seen in Ligue 1. But has Verratti calmed down his relationship with the referees? No. Has he improved his lifestyle to avoid injuries? No. Has he worked on his physique to be more resistant and to correspond a little more to the standards of modern football? No. From then on, we had seen everything, and for a long time. With Verratti, PSG fans knew exactly what they were going to see, but also what they weren’t getting. Namely a box to box environment capable of changing the situation at key moments.
PSG has settled its legacy and said goodbye to almost all the protagonists of the terrible comeback (some are still resisting). Marco Verratti is one of the players who has experienced all the disappointments, all the annual dramas of PSG. “How to get all this out of your head” was a recurring question at press conferences as soon as PSG reached the 8th or quarter-finals of the Champions League. Despite himself, Verratti was one of the symbols of this PSG which is losing its means, even though he rarely hid on the pitch.
Verratti means 746 days of unavailability, or more than 2 full years. It’s a lot, it’s too much, and PSG could no longer continue to hope that their midfielder would be there for the matches that matter. For his PSG, Luis Enrique demands reliability and, more importantly, a fairly significant volume of play and races. The Italian did not fit into this pattern, and embodied the past. Besides, did PSG miss him at the start of the 2023-2024 season?
No, PSG did not do well to get rid of Marco Verratti
It was in August 2012, for the Lorient reception for the first day. The public at the Parc des Princes only had eyes for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who arrived at the same time and started at the forefront of the attack. But that day, everyone was able to see that this number 24, arrived for €11 million from Pescara and totally unknown, had gold in his feet. In the space of 5 minutes, the Parisian people had fallen under its spell. And this has not been denied, despite the annual smear campaign from a famous radio consultant over the years. Why did you deprive the Italian midfielder of his last years, he who had extended until 2026 last December?
If PSG’s desire to rebuild everything is respectable, was it really Marco Verratti who embodied a lack of professional standards? Was he the one not running on the field? Would he have mismatched in the PSG made by Luis Enrique? This same Luis Enrique would not have said no to a more creative midfielder than what he had in stock. But the most creative was the Italian, who was for a long time the only midfielder in the squad who could create danger through his vision of the game and his passes.
Only once did Marco Verratti want to leave, in 2019, where other stars tried to leave on several occasions. The love of PSG runs deep for the Italian, who saw himself finishing his career in Paris. He also seduced all those who trained, accompanied and sometimes confronted him. If he captivated some of his coaches, including Ancelotti and Blanc, his personality and talent regularly made him the darling. Even among opponents, like Pep Guardiola who said he was in love with Verratti at a press conference after a demonstration at the Parc des Princes against Manchester City. It was barely two years ago.
