Marco Verratti really wanted to sign for Barcelona, claims Donato Di Campli

When Paris Saint-Germain signed a teenage Marco Verratti from Pescara in 2012, not a lot was expected from the midfielder but things have changed over the years. The Italian has become one of the best midfielders in the planet and in light of both Xavi and Andres Iniesta’s departure, it saw Barcelona heavily linked with a move for the Italian. While no move ever materialized, reports indicated that the now 28-year-old was really close to a move in 2017.

That has now been confirmed by Verratti’s former agent Donato Di Campli who revealed that the Italian midfielder had his head turned by the La Liga giants. Di Campli admitted that with PSG struggling to become a world-renowned club, he told Verratti to leave the French capital and sign for a club where he could become a “champion”. He further added that while Paris Saint-Germain have now become “one of the biggest clubs in the world”, they play in a “weak league” and that has affected things.

"When Barca contacted me, I asked Marco what we're doing. He told me to talk with them, and that we would also talk with PSG since an extension was in the pipeline. PSG was not great at the time, so I said to Marco: 'Are we going or are we staying?' He said 'OK, let's try another experiment'. Marco really wanted to go to Barcelona,” Di Campli told L’Equipe.

“He texted Nasser [Al-Khelaifi] to tell him, I kept it. They were offering a lot of money, but it wasn't even that. Playing with Messi, becoming a champion, which is a different thing to being a great player. PSG are one of the biggest clubs in the world, but they play in a weak league. I told Marco that if he wanted to become a champion, he had to change tune."