Florentino Perez is targeting to land the Italian midfield maestro Marco Verratti from Paris Saint-Germain this summer to fortify Real Madrid midfield.
According to a report by Spanish Publication Don Balon, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid is planning to bring Marco Verratti to the club from Paris Saint-Germain, after the news of the appointment of the new Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui this week.
Marco Verratti, who plays as a central midfielder for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, is one of the significant players behind the domestic dominance of PSG and considered to be the heir of legendary midfielders-Xavi Hernandez and Andrea Pirlo. He joined PSG in 2012 and since then has won five Ligue 1 titles with the French club.
His incredible performances for his club in past seasons made several European giants, including Barcelona and Juventus, proposing an innumerable amount of offers with hefty sums for the Italian international, which were all declined by Les Parisiens, as PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi believes that Verratti is vital to his club’s hopes of winning the Champions League.
Verratti was good with his midfield duties for his club last season, wherein he bagged 2 goals and 5 assist out of 35 appearances and obtained a successful passing rate of 91.3%; whereas, for next season, Verratti is expected to play a leading role for the French champions under the new manager Thomas Tuchel.
But it has been claimed in Italy that Verratti met with Tuchel to discuss his plans for the coming season. Tuchel, who is known to be strict with the fitness regimes of his players, seems to have upset Verratti with his views on his shape and he told him that he needs to lose weight and improve his overall fitness levels. This has not gone down well with the Italian international and his agent Mina Raiola who appears to have quickly gone to work, sounding out potential moves.
Therefore, Florentino Perez has brought himself to place a bid for the 25-year-old midfielder, since Perez is looking to reinforce the midfield of Los Blancos, as Luka Modric the veteran 32-year-old central midfielder is almost past his peak, and in a couple of years may leave Santiago Bernabeu.
Mateo Kovacic is dissatisfied with his situation at the club and might also leave this summer. This all makes Verratti a desirable target for Perez.
Additionally, according to further claims by Don Balon, PSG might be still bitter about their dismissal from Champions League by Real Madrid last season, and it could affect the negotiations.
However, it is also being published that Verratti is gradually losing his relations with the club President Qatari Nasser Al-Khelafi because of series of few poor performances by the player last season. Thus, it may create the move easier for Perez, unlike for Barcelona last summer.
This time Real Madrid will not face any challenge from Barcelona, in the pursuit of Verratti since Barcelona is not willing to make a bid for him this year, as last summer drama with PSG left the Catalans resentful about it.
Hence, Real Madrid would probably face no challenge in luring the Italian, although whether Verratti will land in Madrid or not is still unclear. PSG in the end, may back out if they somehow give a thought to re-consider their future prospects with Verratti and could eventually end up rejecting offers from Real Madrid.
