Verratti denies he sought PSG exit

Posted Saturday, October 21, 2017 by foxsportsasia.com

Marco Verratti says he remains committed to Paris Saint-Germain after denying he demanded an exit from the French club in the off-season.

The 24-year-old Italian was a target for a number of clubs including Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich as well as a number of sides from the English Premier League.

But nine games into the 2017/18 season, having played five Ligue 1 games, three Champions League matches and a Trophée des Champions tie, the former Pescara man is excited about his future with PSG.

He told L’Equipe: “It’s not true that I asked the club to leave. When the new director of sport Henrique arrived, I came back from vacation to understand how things were really going.

“To be honest, I am ambitions and for the first time since I got here, I asked myself whether I should remain.

“Then they reassured me on the project and their ambitions. Winning something with PSG will always be different to elsewhere and I am very happy here.

“It’s true, we had complicated moments last season, as we were expected to win every tournament, but had to deal with opponents that were more of a ‘team’ than we were.”

Verratti fired his agent Donato Di Campli, who was reported to have been behind any potential move to Barcelona, and replaced him with Mino Raiola.

On his change of representation, the player added: “I didn’t expect the summer to be like that, as many things happened that I did not like, above all the behaviour of people close to me who thought only of themselves and not of what was best for me.

“It was tough, because Di Campli was like a father for me. I hope, over time, we can rebuild a normal rapport.

“I already knew Raiola, as he was (former PSG teammate Zlatan) Ibrahimovic’s agent.”