Marco Verratti looking to leave PSG, again, but don’t get too excited

Marco Verratti is certainly one of the most highly coveted names around European football, and any time there’s even a whiff of a possibility that he might leave Paris Saint-Germain, pulses quicken and purse strings loosen. But just like the previous however many times over the past several years something like this has been wafted around the rumor mill — and it’s been an annual, if not semiannual event, even — the chances of him actually leaving PSG are pretty small.

As is tradition, it’s the agent doing most of the heavy lifting, talking about projects and ambitions and all those vague concepts that could apply to in a myriad of ways depending on context, perspective, and clarity of vision.

“It's very complicated [to leave], but we have expressed our ideas to PSG. We're not talking about Barcelona or other clubs, it's about projects. I think I represent a champion and clearly I have questions. To be a champion you have to win.”

“If PSG don't want to sell him, despite offers from all over Europe, then we'd have to examine our consciences in Italy. It's difficult; I think it's a deal which is still out of the scope of Italian clubs."

-Donato Di Campli; source: Sky Italia via Goal

And you can bet your bottom dollar that PSG aren’t just going to give in that easily.

Marca are of course more than happy to stick it to Barcelona, but they do claim that a PSG executive told them “[His price tag] is neither 80 million euros nor 100m euros, because Verratti is not for sale”. PSG aren’t just sitting around rejecting transfer requests however; they are also actively working on a new contract (again) for Verratti. If the agent can’t agitate for a sale, an improved contract is at least a consolation prize, right?

Chelsea (thanks largely to Antonio Conte’s connection with his former player for the Italian national team) were heavily rumored last summer, but we’ve been firmly relegated to the subs bench for this Silly Season with Barcelona taking the spotlight instead. Not that it matters, because Verratti is just as unlikely to move now as before.

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