PSG tell Verratti 'no'... but now they know first hand he wants out
Al-Khelaifi and Antero Henrique met with Verratti and his agent on Thursday
They still say he's going nowhere but have now heard first hand he wants Barça move
Marco Verratti made a visit to Paris on Thursday to hold talks with Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi and the club's new sporting director Henrique Antero.
The result was once again the PSG chiefs telling Verratti and his agent, Donato Di Campli, that they will not give the green light for his departure to Barcelona and Camp Nou this summer.
French newspaper L'Equipe confirmed the news reported by SPORT this week: Verratti left his break in Ibiza to return to Paris with Di Campli to ask PSG to listen to what Barça had to say.
Verratti gave his reasons why he wanted to leave: his desire to continue growing as a player and his dream of playing alongside Leo Messi. In recent hours. he's even received support from Barça players, such as Neymar.
The Italian international things Camp Nou would be the perfect place for him to play his best football and somewhere he would be able to win the Champions League which has so far resisted him in Paris.
But the response from Al-Khelaifi and Henrique was already known: Marco, due to his age (24) and his quality, is a key piece of Unai Emery's project at the Parc des Princes. He has a contract until 2021 and is not for sale.
AN UNFRUITFUL HOUR
After an hour of talks, Verratti and Di Campli returned to Ibiza to continue their holiday without having altered PSG's position.
Although now, Al-Khelaifi and Antero Henrique know first hand that Verratti wants to leave Parc des Princes and wants the club to listen to FC Barcelona.
Now it's about seeing the next step Verratti takes, having already enlisted lawyers to tell him what would be the consequences of certain actions -- such as not returning for pre-training -- to force a move.
