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.