Verratti, PSG also excludes him from the Champions League. Qatar one step away

The midfielder, now out of the squad, would be about to move to the club in the Qatari capital. Unless he decides to get in the trenches and hold out until January…

Alexander Grandesso

– paris

Backs against the wall. For Marco Verratti, the only way out now is the one that leads to Doha. The agreement with Al Arabi is only a matter of formality, according to Parisian rumors. In short, barring twists and turns, the midfielder will leave the club of the Emir of Qatar to move to the club in the Qatari capital. A 50 million euro operation for the PSG coffers which yesterday also excluded the midfielder from the Champions League list, effectively forcing him to surrender to the evidence. For Verratti, also forgotten by Spalletti’s national team, there is no longer a place even in Paris. The only alternative is plotted, albeit with a more or less doubled engagement.

UNDERSTANDING

Verratti had long understood that after 11 years there was no longer the same desire to continue together, with PSG. For this he had already supported the court of Al Hilal first and then of Al Ahli in May. However, the agreement was reached with an unofficial intermediary, infuriating the Saudis who withdrew from the negotiations. This is how Al Arabi entered, after Luis Enrique had formally communicated to the player not to count on him. From words, the coach moved on to deeds, excluding him from the call-ups for the first four days of the championship, even if he was taken to training camp between Japan and South Korea.

STAIN

However, Verratti was hoping for some calls from Europe. Some clubs, such as Atletico Madrid, have come forward, but only to probe conditions, quickly considered out of reach. The PSG started from a quotation of 80 million. To which we add the 14.5 million gross salary, the result of the Parisian ride of the Abruzzo player, who arrived as an unknown in 2012 and became one of the strongest midfielders around. However, something jammed during the last season marked by another crash in the Champions League. And to pay, like Messi and Neymar to whom he was in fact much closer than Mbappé, was also Verratti.

OFFER

Yesterday, therefore, PSG, now tailor-made for Mbappé, took another step towards separation, excluding Verratti from the most coveted competition. Out of the Champions League: a slightly subliminal message to make the Italian understand that he accepts the Al Arabi proposal which would guarantee him a salary eight to ten million less than when offered by the Saudis, who tripled his salary. At this point, Verratti can only give in, moving to the football desert at the age of 30, in an already marginal league, also crushed by the emerging Saudi tournament, filled with international stars. Unless the blue, under contract until 2026, decides to enter the trenches and hold out until January, hoping that some more attractive sporting project will emerge, which will allow him to continue to shine, even in Europe.



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