Marco Verratti describes Lionel Messi as a ‘perfectly normal’ PSG teammate and admits he is haunted by Italy’s World Cup play-offs. ‘I think about it every night before sleeping.’
The midfielder is preparing for tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad and no doubt Paris Saint-Germain will again be looking to summer signing Messi for inspiration.
“We forget at times that Messi is a perfectly normal person like everyone else,” Verratti told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was a difficult start for him, he is settling in more and more, we welcomed him like a King to the locker room and it’s a privilege to play alongside him.
“He’s spectacular and enjoys himself in training too. He’s a really simple guy without airs and I like people like him, because I am the same. We get along both on and off the field.”
Verratti missed the recent World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Northern Ireland due to injury and those stalemates mean Italy must go through the play-offs in March.
Unlike in 2017, this time there will be a one-off semi-final and a final to reach the tournament in Qatar.
“I think about the play-offs every night before going to sleep. It’s a challenge we cannot fail and we have faith in ourselves. By playing with heart, we can achieve objectives that had seemed impossible, like the Euros.
“I tell Italian fans to relax, we will give our all. It won’t be easy, football can be strange, but we have a very good chance of qualifying.”
#Verratti: ‘#Messi è spettacolare, uno semplice come me. Playoff Mondiale? Ci penso ogni notte prima di dormire’ https://t.co/QErSYgxwag pic.twitter.com/WvMKx7PsJn
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) November 23, 2021
Forza Guffo.
We need the entire squad to he completely and utter focused for these (very avoidable) Playoffs.
Your country needs you.
And injury free would be nice