Marco Verratti has moved to Qatar! The Italian signed a contract with Al Arabi. According to informant Fabrizio Romano, PSG accepted an offer of 45 million euros and, according to journalist Nicolo Schira, the midfielder will earn 30 million euros a year with a contract until 2026. On Wednesday, September 13, the footballer arrived in Doha and a photo of Verratti wearing the Al-Arabi uniform appeared on the club’s official website. Why did the footballer leave Paris?
They could have ended up in Saudi Arabia, but they chose a different path:
Star footballers who never went to Saudi Arabia
Verratti has played for PSG since 2012. The Italian finished in the French Championship after four years in Pescara. The talented midfielder was noticed in Serie B, he was finally bought in the summer of 2012 for 12 million euros (the annual salary was 850 thousand euros). PSG won the competition against Juventus, Milan and Napoli. Verratti was compared to Andrea Pirlo (not in terms of functionality, but talent), one of the best Italian midfielders in history.
As a result, Marco spent 11 years at PSG. During this time, he won nine French championships with the club, the same number of Super Cups, as well as six French Cups and League Cups. And in 2021 he was proclaimed European champion with the Italian team. Overall, I’ve put together an impressive collection.
In the summer, PSG changed coaches. Luis Enrique replaced Christophe Galtier. Because of this, he has not only changed the scheme, but also the overall playing style. And in that there was no place for Verratti.
Marco Verratti at PSG
Photo: Kenta Harada/Getty Images
RMC Sport reported in early August that Marco was informed that PSG were no longer interested in his services. Verratti and Neymar were not even invited to a team photo session. The Parisians expected the Italian to move to Saudi Arabia. Former PSG footballer Jerome Roten also noted that it was time for PSG to say goodbye to Verratti: “He has been here for more than ten years, he has made enormous progress in his first years in Paris… We all agree that Verratti He was an excellent midfielder, but that is not enough considering the last few years. He never replaced [в раздевалке] the deceased Thiago Motta, Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “We expected a lot more from Marquinhos and Verratti, it’s disappointing.”
But not everyone criticized the footballer. Donato Di Campli, Verratti’s former agent, pointed out that PSG is a club without a soul. As an example, he cited the failed transfer of a former client to Barcelona: “The players in Paris are prisoners, they always do what the club wants, and not themselves. This is a prison, they practice blackmail there. We wanted to go to Barcelona and the emir obviously didn’t like it. Al-Khelaifi told me that if he continued trying to reach an agreement with Barça, Verratti would leave me… And in the end it happened. I’m sure Marco was scared; he won’t admit it, but it’s true.”
Despite the fact that Marco worked with the team in the off-season and flew, for example, to training camps in Japan, throughout the summer the media sent him to different clubs. They called Atlético, Liverpool, Bayern, Barcelona. But then Saudi Arabia seemed to be the main route for Marco. The two main contenders were Al-Ahly and Al-Hilal.
According to journalist Matteo Moretto, PSG responded to the first club that it would not sell the player for less than 80 million euros, while Al-Ahly was willing to pay only 30 million euros. Al-Hilal made progress regarding Marco’s transfer. Even Fabrizio Romano has already reported that the player is close to moving to Saudi Arabia. Al-Hilal offered the Italian a three-year contract with a salary of 48 million euros per year. But PSG did not want to let the defender go for a small sum by their standards (they also offered 30 million euros). Later, L’Équipe journalist Loic Tanzi shared interesting news. He noted that in negotiations with Saudi clubs, Verratti was represented by a stranger who posed as his agent. For this reason, negotiations with Al-Hilal lasted several weeks.
Qatar took advantage of this situation. Al-Arabi offered 45 million euros for Verratti and PSG accepted. As a result, the footballer ended up in Doha. It is interesting that the Parisians previously blocked offers of less than 80 million euros, but now they have committed. Is there any connection between the Qatari owners of PSG and the Qatari club Al Arabi? No one spoke directly about connections, but there is no doubt that the Parisian bosses gave the player a discount for “theirs.” Furthermore, PSG and Al Arabi already have a history of transfers. Previously, midfielder Rafinha and defender Abdou Diallo arrived in Qatar from Paris. Al-Arabi acted as PSG’s “sanitary man.” That’s probably why the club lowered its requirements.
Marco Verratti in Al Arabi
Photo: https://twitter.com/alarabi_club
What is Al-Arabi?
Al Arabi is the most popular and oldest club in Qatar. It was founded in 1952. It is a seven-time national champion and eight-time Cup winner. It plays its matches at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha, with a capacity for 18,000 spectators. The most famous players who previously played for the Club: Gabriel Batistuta (2003-2005), Stefan Effenberg (2003-2004), Taribo West (2004), Daniel Carvalho (2010) and Pablo Hernández (2014-2017). Now predominantly Qataris play in the club, there are also Spaniards, Senegalese, Brazilians, Dutch, Icelanders, Tunisians and Egyptians.
Verratti’s star company will be the aforementioned Diallo and Raphinha, as well as Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland national team player, played for Cardiff City). Overall, it’s not as bright as in Saudi Arabia, but still okay.
“Al-Arabi”
Photo: https://twitter.com/alarabi_club
It’s a shame to lose another European star in his prime (Verrati is 30), but Marco decided to be fashionable and make some money in the Middle East. Although there is still a chance to see Marco in the big leagues. The contract with Al-Arabi was signed for only two years, and then it is quite possible to return to Europe.
We evaluate the transfers of the best European clubs based on the results of the summer of 2023:
The best European clubs spent almost 3 billion euros in the summer! Who has the best transfers?
