Marco Verratti set to join Al Arabi from PSG for €45 million

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti will join Qatari side Al Arabi in a deal worth €45 million, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Al Arabi and PSG agreed on a deal days back, and the Qatar club has now finalised everything for the Italian maestro to join them in the coming days.

Verratti has been deemed surplus to requirement at PSG by head coach Luis Enrique, and the club has forced the player out after 11 years of service.

The 30-year-old midfielder joined Les Parisiens in his teen years before becoming a mainstay at the club. In Paris, he has established himself as one of the best midfielders of his generation.

The former Pescara playmaker has made 416 appearances for PSG and is the second-most capped player in their history, bagging 11 goals and 61 assists.

Verratti leaves PSG as the player with the most titles for the club. He has won nine Ligue 1 titles, six Coupe de France, six Coupe de la Ligue, and nine French Super Cups. 

He also helped them reach the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League final.

However, with PSG undergoing a drastic reshuffle this summer, Verratti was one of the expendables. 

The Ligue 1 champions are undergoing a radical change in philosophy that has seen them let go of top stars like Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Ramos. 

PSG’s hierarchy wanted to bring in more French national team players, and sporting director Luis Campos was to head the summer dealings.

They decided to sign hungrier players, acquiring Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Goncalo Ramos, Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele, Manuel Ugarte, Xavi Simons, Bradley Barcola, Marco Asensio and more in a bid to restructure the club.

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PSG will hope to see results after their summer of structural change. They will also hope that their operations will encourage Kylian Mbappe to stay as he enters the final year of his contract.