Ligue 1 powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain isn’t done offloading its star players. PSG announced on Wednesday that Italian midfielder Marco Verratti is leaving the club to join Qatari side Al Arabi.
Reportedly, Al Arabi will pay €45 million for Verratti’s services while the player will ink a three-year deal with his new club.
Verratti’s departure might come as a surprise to some soccer fans, considering how important he was for PSG in previous years. However, the club’s new head coach, Luis Enrique, reportedly didn’t see him as a good fit for his system and previously informed the 30-year-old player that he isn’t part of his plans.
PSG is looking to get away from its previous policy of relying on star players. The French club also moved on from Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, and Neymar this summer.
Marco Verratti joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2012 from Pescara as a 19-year-old player. Since then, he has played 416 matches, the second-highest in club history, while helping PSG win nine Ligue 1 titles, more than any other player in the history of the league.
“I was very proud to wear the colors of Paris St Germain for more than a decade, to rub shoulders with so many great players, and to win 30 trophies,” Verratti said after the news was made official. “Paris, the Club, and its supporters will always have a very special place in my heart. I will be Parisian forever.”
