Marco Verratti

Marco Verratti (born 5 November 1992) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a central-midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Arabi and the Italy national team.

The first youth team Verratti was affiliated with was that of Manoppello, a historic team of Pescara, that in 2001 merged with the newly born Manoppello Arabona.

He remained there until 2006 when he entered the youth of Pescara.

A technically gifted playmaker, Verratti began his career with Italian club Pescara in 2008, where he soon rose to prominence as one of the best young midfielders in Europe, helping the team to win the 2011–12 Serie B title, and winning the 2012 Bravo Award.

His playing style drew comparisons with Andrea Pirlo, due to his passing ability, vision, and control, as well as his similar transition from the role of trequartista to that of a regista.

Verratti made his first team debut in the 2008–09 season at the age of 15 years and 9 months.

In the 2009–10 season, he appeared more regularly for Pescara, and since then became a key player in the first team.

His performances generated national media coverage as a potential star of the future and Italian international.

With Zdeněk Zeman as manager, Verratti excelled as a deep-lying playmaker in a Pescara team which won the 2011–12 Serie B title playing "the best football in Italy", earning promotion to Serie A the following season.

In July 2012, he transferred to French side Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a record nine Ligue 1 titles, among other domestic and individual trophies, and established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.

He ranks third for all-time appearances for the club.

At senior level, he made his Italy debut in 2012, and represented his country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020, winning the latter tournament.

Verratti was born in Pescara, and grew up in Manoppello.

As a child, he supported Juventus and idolised Alessandro Del Piero, the team's Italian international offensive playmaker.

Verratti's talent was noticed at an early age, and he was made offers to join the youth academies of Atalanta and Internazionale, but joined his local club Pescara for €5,000.

After an impressive performance for Pescara's under-16 team against AC Milan, the Lombardy club offered €300,000 to sign the midfielder, but Verratti decided to remain at Pescara.

After helping Pescara to promotion to Serie A, Verratti received the 2012 Bravo Award for the best player under the age of 21 in Europe, and was reportedly wanted by Napoli, Roma and Juventus, as well as Carlo Ancelotti's Paris Saint-Germain.

At the 2012 AIC Gran Gala del Calcio, he was elected the best player of the 2011–12 Serie B season, along with former Pescara teammates Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne.

On 18 July 2012, Verratti signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.

On 2 September 2012, Verratti made his competitive debut for PSG in an away Ligue 1 match against Lille.

Twelve days later, he assisted Javier Pastore's opening goal in his first competitive appearance at the Parc des Princes, a 2–0 Ligue 1 defeat of Toulouse.

On 18 September 2012, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 4–1 group stage defeat of Dynamo Kyiv.

He ended his first season in the French capital by winning the 2012–13 Ligue 1 title.

At international level, Verratti represented the Italy under-21 football team at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, winning a runners-up medal, and being named to the all-star squad for the tournament.

On 20 August 2013, Verratti signed a one-year extension to his contract with PSG, keeping him at the club until 2018.

Verratti's second season with PSG was even more successful than the first as the team retained its Ligue 1 title and won the Coupe de la Ligue and the 2013 Trophée des Champions.

Verratti was named as the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year and included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year for the 2013–14 season.

On 30 September 2014, Verratti scored his first competitive goal for PSG, a header in a 3–2 home win over Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League.

On 18 January 2015, Verratti scored his first goal in Ligue 1, in a 4–2 home win over Evian.

In August 2016, Verratti signed a 3-year extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2021.

On 6 March 2018, Verratti was sent off after acquiring a second yellow card in the second leg of a Champions League round of 16 fixture against the eventual champions Real Madrid.

Real Madrid went on to win the game 2–1 and eliminated PSG with an aggregate score of 5–2.

This goal was Verratti's first of the 2018–19 season for PSG, and also his first goal ever in the competition.

On 18 February, he became the club's all-time appearance holder in the Champions League, when he made his 58th appearance in the competition in a 2–1 away loss in the first leg of their round of 16 draw against Borussia Dortmund, overtaking the previous record holder Paul Le Guen at 57.

On 3 April 2019, Verratti scored the opening goal from a Kylian Mbappé assist in a 3–0 home win over Nantes in the Coupe de France semi-finals, which allowed PSG to advance to the final of the competition; during the same match, he also provided an assist for his team's final goal, which was scored by Dani Alves.

Following PSG's 2–1 victory over Rennes in the 2019 Trophée des Champions on 3 August, Verratti became the player with the most titles with the club, with 22 trophies in total (six Ligue 1 titles, four Coupe de France titles, five Coupe de la Ligue titles, and seven Trophée des Champions titles).

In October, he signed a three–year contract extension with the club, which would tie him to PSG until June 2024.

In April, PSG were assigned the 2019–20 Ligue 1 title after the season was ended prematurely due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic; at the time of the League's suspension, PSG were in first place, with a twelve–point lead over second–placed Marseille.

This was Verratti's record seventh Ligue 1 title with the club, which saw him equal the all–time individual record of most Ligue 1 title victories, along with his club teammate Thiago Silva, which was jointly held by Hervé Revelli and Jean-Michel Larqué of Saint-Étienne, as well as Grégory Coupet, Juninho and Sidney Govou of Lyon.

On 12 January 2020, Verratti made his 300th appearance for PSG in a 3–3 home draw against Monaco in Ligue 1.