Marco Verratti’s brother confirms the midfielder “dreamed of Juventus” but now he’ll “stay in Paris for life”.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was close to joining the Bianconeri in 2012, but ultimately made the move to Parc des Princes, and has been linked with a switch to Turin ever since.
“That day [in 2012] I was working in Pescara,” Stefano Verratti explained to L’Équipe.
Marco Verratti’s brother confirms the midfielder “dreamed of Juventus” but now he’ll “stay in Paris for life”.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder was close to joining the Bianconeri in 2012, but ultimately made the move to Parc des Princes, and has been linked with a switch to Turin ever since.
“That day [in 2012] I was working in Pescara,” Stefano Verratti explained to L’Équipe.
“Personally I thought he would go to Juventus, because when we were little and we played football in our room or in the piazza in Manopello, our dream was Juventus.
“In addition, a friend had shown me a newspaper which said Marco had signed there! I even said: ‘how can it be official when I don’t know anything?’.
“In fact Marco had signed for PSG. Everything had been done in a week, my mother was surprised that he didn’t choose Italy. When she called me to tell me, I thought: ‘Paris isn’t 20km from the house, it’s far away!’.
“Especially for him, who had already found it difficult to leave for Pescara in 2008, 30km from the village! I will admit that I was worried he’d regret his choice.
“Then I found it bizarre that Paris would sign my brother when they had bought [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, [Ezequiel] Lavezzi…
“They were a very strong team who could afford top players, so why my brother? In fact Marco was strong, it was very good for him.
“When my brother signed, I went with him, but I wasn’t intending to stay. It was a difficult decision for me, especially as I couldn’t speak a word of French. The hardest part was leaving family and friends.
“I lived with Marco for three months in Neuilly-sur-Seine, at the time he didn’t have a very big house. It’s bigger today!
“I quickly bought a small apartment near his home though, I prefer to be independent. Now we might not see each other for four or five days, but in that first year we saw each other every day because I took care of everything.
“For example, since Marco didn’t have a driver’s licence, I drove him everywhere. Now he has someone to do that. I think it was important for him that I was there at the start.
“Will he leave PSG? My brother has always been respectful of the team, I think if he can he’ll stay in Paris for life.
“He’s very attached to this city, it’s where his son was born. It was in Paris that Marco became a man. Teammates change, but the club and the city remain.
“In my opinion, Marco will only return to Italy if PSG decide he’s no longer useful here. What I hope is that when he’s 30, 32 he’ll come back to finish his career with Pescara.
“He could have a penultimate year in China and the last one with Pescara!"
Despite growing up as a Juve fan, Verratti could also have joined Milan.
“At the beginning, Milan wanted him, but he was 14 and he didn’t want to go because he was very young.
“With hindsight I think it would have been a mistake for him to go there at such a young age. He’d have been sad, he’s have played badly… it could have broken him.”