Marco Verratti, Barcelona's impossible dream... and why he's so hard to sign
PSG don't want to know anything about a sale, but it depends on what the Italian wants to achieve in his sporting career
Both Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez have picked out Marco Verratti as the ideal player that Barcelona's central midfield needs. The Italian star will be one of the players of this era, but the Blaugrana know that his signing is a chimera. An illusion. Unless PSG don't win the Champions League.
Verratti wants a challenge but the 4-0 defeat in Paris did a lot of damage to the chances of signing him. PSG don't want to know anything about a sale, but it depends on what the Italian wants to achieve in his sporting career.
It's not the first time he's been linked to Barcelona. Both the player and his agent Donato Di Campi have been open to it before. His theory was that the Italian was now tired of playing in the French league and wanted to change clubs if the French side kept failing in Europe. So the 4-0 vs Barcelona was a blow for all the clubs interested in signing him. And in Europe all big sides in the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga are following him.
Verratti had serious opportunities to leave PSG last summer. The player met with the Parisian side and expressed his doubts about their sporting project. They asked for patience and convinced him to stay with a huge contract. In August he signed on until 2021 with numbers that could surpass 10m euros net per season. It calmed him, but in January he started showing doubts about continuing at PSG. Doubts that with the pounding of Barcelona, are fading.
Barcelona's principal problem is that, like with Marquinhos, PSG will not negotiate. Not even putting a huge price on him, they say he is nontransferable. It all depends on the will of the player, but it seems that Verratti is starting to change his mind about leaving too. For now, his signing is a dream, but things could change. And Barcelona are alert.
