Al-Hilal delegation in Paris to attempt to sign Marco Verratti

L’Équipe report that Saudi 1st division side Al-Hilal have sent a delegation to Paris in an attempt to convince 30-year-old Italian international central midfielder Marco Verratti to make a switch to the Middle Eastern club and away from PSG.

The delegation – who arrived on Tuesday – represent the club itself and not the Saudi government, with the latter party having negotiated a number of player transactions for other Saudi teams directly themselves.

Verratti is under contract with PSG until June 2026 but is open to considering a departure from the French capital this summer – his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, appeared to confirm that the player would do some reflecting during his holidays.

This is not the first time that Al-Hilal representatives have been in Paris in recent weeks, having been present a a couple dozen days ago to hold talks with Belgian international centre-forward Romelu Lukaku.

As it stands, no formal offer has been made to Verratti, but Al-Hilal has sent key individuals to the French capital and have mandated close confidants in an attempt to close the transaction.

In private, Verratti has been considering the idea of an exit and sharing these thoughts with some of his team-mates, notably with Kylian Mbappé during a recent dinner in Cannes. Verratti also added that he felt it would be difficult to leave the club this summer as PSG are very tough with their demands in order to allow the Italian to leave.

Al-Hilal are also looking at the French market for a new head coach at the same time, having recently separated with Argentinian manager Ramón Diaz.

GFFN | James Thorpe