Former France international and ex-Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi has heaped praise on former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marco Verratti, claiming he ‘left his mark’ on the history of the club during his trophy-laden career in the French capital.
Verratti is set to join Qatari outfit Al-Arabi, with an official announcement expected imminently. The 30-year-old has spent the last 11 years of his career with PSG, having joined from Pescara in 2012.
Since then, he has gone on to register 416 appearances for the French giants across all competitions, including 276 in Ligue 1.
Speaking recently to RMC Sport, Matuidi said of his former colleague: “In my eyes, given the titles he has won, Marco has left his mark on the history of PSG.
“When he arrived he was very young, care-free, nobody really knew who he was. But from his first touches, we saw that he was a little gem and that he would really excite the Parc des Princes.”
Despite winning nine league titles and six French cups, Verratti’s time in Paris came to a bitter end, eventually being excluded from the first team picture along with a number of other senior figures.
However, Matuidi believes that the final chapter is not what PSG fans should remember Verratti by, pointing to his model professionalism for over a decade.
“Maybe that’s what some want to remember.,” Matuidi said, before continuing: “I can assure you that Marco never arrived late for training, that he was always a great professional.”