PSG Pays Special Tribute to Marco Verratti As Midfielder Departs Club After 11 Years

• Marco Verratti departs Paris Saint Germain after 11 years
• The midfielder had a farewell held in his honour
• Verratti is set to join Qatari club Al Arabi

Marco Verratti departs Ligue 1 club Paris Saint Germain after an illustrious 11 year stint at the French capital.

The midfielder, who joined PSG at the inception of the Qatari takeover in 2012, became a surprise subject of transfer following the appointment of Spanish Coach Luis Enrique.

According to reports from Marca, the 30-year-old midfielder was informed he was no longer part of the club's long-term plan and needed to seek playing time elsewhere.

Verratti, who took a while before getting a new club, saw himself frozen out of the first-team setup at the French club and, despite being part of the club's preseason tour in Japan, saw himself left out of Luis Enrique's plan squad list when the league season resumed.

Maradona to Mertens: List of top 10 Napoli legends of all time ranked

Football

Following the completion of a ₤40 million transfer to Qatari Star League Al Arabi, the former Pescara maestro bade farewell to the Ligue 1 club ahead of their fixture against OGC Nice.

Marco Verratti bid PSG farewell

Ahead of the Ligue 1 fixture, the Italian midfielder had all his accumulated trophies at the club proudly displayed before the Parc des Princes crowd. Overwhelmed by emotions and moved to tears, Verratti expressed his gratitude, as quoted by PSGhub:

"I've had 11 wonderful years. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart."

In response, the fans displayed a banner in a show of solidarity for the midfielder:

"A decade of magic, 30 trophies with Paris. A monument named Marco."

Verratti, after featuring for the Parisian club over 400 times, will now look ahead to reigniting his career with his new club as he aims to secure a place in Luciano Spalletti's Italian squad for the upcoming Euro 2024.

Arsenal transfer news: Which players did Arsenal bring in during the January transfer window?

Football

Marco Verratti’s agent blasts PSG

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Verratti’s former agent tearing into PSG and how the club is run, comparing the Ligue 1 champions to a prison and even claiming they ‘blackmail’ players to stay.

In an explosive revelation, Donato Di Campli also alleged the Ligue 1 champions blocked his ex-client from joining Barcelona years earlier, and his livelihood as a football agent was also threatened.