Verratti joins Al Arabi “Eternal PSG legend”
Marco Verratti (30) leaves his beloved France and wears the Qatar Al Arabi uniform.
Qatar Stars League Al Arabi announced on the morning of the 14th (Korean time) on its official website and social media (SNS), “The club has signed a three-year contract with former Italian national team star Marco Verratti.” The specific transfer fee was not revealed, but European soccer statistics media Transfermarkt said it was 45 million euros (about 64 billion won). It is known that additional options are included.
On the same day, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) also announced its farewell to Verratti through the club website. The club said, “An eternal PSG legend. Verratti, who has been with the club for 11 years, signed with Al Arabi. Verratti left an indelible mark on PSG’s history, he said.
Verratti, from Pescara (Italy), wore the PSG uniform through the summer transfer window in July 2012. At the time, PSG expressed expectations by investing a large sum of 12 million euros (about 17 billion won) to recruit Verratti, who was only 19 years old. It paid attention to his performance in Pescara last season, where he provided 9 assists in 31 league games.
Verratti performed well, ignoring concerns about the adjustment period. He played in 39 official games in his debut season and quickly won the position of the team’s defensive midfielder. The team also won the league championship for the first time in 19 years since the 1993-94 season.메이저놀이터
Since then, Verratti has recorded 11 goals and 61 assists in 416 official games over 11 seasons at PSG. They shared 295 wins and won 30 championship trophies. In particular, during the period with Verratti, PSG won nine league titles. Considering that PSG has won the league 11 times in total, Verratti’s transfer was in fact the starting point of the club’s heyday. In addition, Verratti also won the Super Cup 9 times, the League Cup 7 times, and the French Cup 6 times. The performance in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) remains the biggest disappointment. They reached the UCL finals in the 2019-20 season, but their best record was finishing as runners-up after losing to Bayern Munich (Germany).
Initially, Verratti was expected to remain at PSG, but after struggling with minor injuries after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, his position was narrowed with the appointment of new coach Luis Enrique. Under coach Enrique, who is sensitive to self-management, Verratti was considered a transfer target. He did not receive a chance even in the preseason, was left out of the roster, and a transfer was announced early on. Saudi Arabia (Al Ahli, Al Hilal) was initially mentioned as the destination, but according to local French media, it was reported that difficulties were encountered in negotiating the transfer fee. In the end, Verratti moves to Qatar at the end of the transfer window and takes on a new challenge.
Marco Verratti joined Qatar Stars League Al Arabi on the 14th. Photo = Al Arabi SNS
Marco Verratti joined Qatar Stars League Al Arabi on the 14th. Photo = Al Arabi SNS
Meanwhile, there are colleagues at Al Arabi who have already worked with Verratti. Defender Abdu Diallo also recently joined, and attacking midfielder Rafinha also joined last year and is making his mark.