Marco Verratti has spent a decade with Paris Saint-Germain, arriving in 2012 from Pescara, and now has become a club legend with the Ligue 1 giants.
The midfielder came from Pescara as a teenager, so Verratti has grown up into an adult in the French capital. The 29-year-old spoke with French publication RMC Sport about his ten years in Paris.
Verratti detailed the players on the PSG squad that have helped him grow into the player and person off the pitch since Les Parisiens had veteran players to mentor the young midfielder.
“I think of my beginnings with Ibra, Thiago Motta, Maxwell. I learned a lot from each of them,” Verratti said. “Ibra with his invincible aura. Thiago Motta, who played in the same position as me. I learned a lot from him. Playing simple football is sometimes the hardest thing to do.
“He’s a person who doesn’t seem to want to shine when you’re around him, and you realize that with the way he has to operate the crew. And then there was Maxwell. He is an extremely humble guy who gave me a lot of advice. He was like a big brother to me. So, I think these three people marked my debut. I met them very young; they were the ones who helped me the most.”
The Italian international is now the veteran on the team and the midfield leader, with plenty of new faces, all younger than Verratti, so now he’s in the role of Motta, Maxwell, and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
The PSG star will have to play the role of mentor for some of these players who are coming to a club where the demand is to win the UEFA Champions League.
