Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti is currently tied with defender Thiago Silva as to being the longest-tenured players on the team. Verratti has been through the ups and downs with the club in UEFA Champions League play, which makes qualifying for this season’s final even more fulfilling for him.
In his Champions League final pregame comments (via L’Equipe), Verratti gave his thoughts on just what it means to finally clinch a spot in the biggest club fixture in the sport today.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Verratti said. “I have been here for eight years, indeed. It was sometimes hard before. This year, we had a fabulous journey. We have 90 minutes left, important in our footballing history and that of the club.”
Verratti has been dealing with a calf injury, but he was fit enough to make an appearance as a substitute in the Champions League semis against RB Leipzig. He is continuing to rehab the injury in hopes of fully recovering just in time for the final. The Italian midfielder says that his recovery is “going better.”
Silva will be playing in his last fixture with PSG in the upcoming final against FC Bayern Munich. Verratti appreciates the run that Silva has had with the club and hopes that the team can send him off with a Champions League winners’ medal.
“With Thiago, we lived it all, incredible moments, others difficult,” Verratti said. “He is an incredible person, who has always given everything for PSG. For this reason, I am even happier for him that he can play this game. He knows what we want: go get that cup now that we’re so close to it.”
Verratti watched the semifinal fixture between Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyonnais. He was impressed by the showing from the reigning Bundesliga champions.
“We all watched the game together,” Verratti said. “Bayern is a very strong, very physical team, with quality players. Lyon could have scored in the first fifteen minutes and it is for this reason that the opening of the scoring by Bayern was a little hard to digest. But Bayern are used to living this type of match. [Bayern] has always shown his superiority to the opponent.”
PSG will be looking to win its first-ever Champions League trophy.
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