After four seasons with the Serie B side Pescara, Marco Verratti was primed for a move to a notable European team back in 2012. He had several suitors but wound up joining Paris Saint-Germain over the 2012 summer transfer window. However, one Serie A side came close to signing Verratti.
Pescara president Daniele Sebastiani recently spoke to the Italian-based station Radio CRC (via Area Napoli) about Verratti’s time with Pescara and how Napoli made an approach to sign the talent. Sebastiani detailed how a few public remarks from Verratti turned Napoli away.
“My friend Aurelio De Laurentiis [Napoli president] was the only one to seriously believe in it, in Italy, and to make a concrete offer to try to buy him,” Sebastiani said. “The player released a statement in the newspapers after meeting De Laurentiis, saying he was born with the Juventus shirt, and an uproar broke out in Naples.
“Walter Mazzarri [former Napoli manager], by admission of De Laurentiis, did not consider Verratti useful for the Napoli project. Unfortunately, in football, certain things happen. Everyone has his own thoughts.”
Verratti could have been the workhorse midfielder who Napoli desperately needed over the last decade. But one could suggest that had Verratti signed with Napoli, his tenure there might not have lasted very long due to inevitable interest from other top clubs.
PSG must be fortunate that Napoli ended its pursuit of Verratti in 2012, which opened the door for the midfielder to sign on with the French powerhouse side.
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