Barcelona target set to sign new Paris Saint-Germain deal

Marco Verratti will now sign a new Paris Saint-Germain deal after signing up with super-agent Mino Raiola, reports L’Equipe, via AS.

The Italy international announced on Wednesday evening that he had made the decision to drop Donato Di Campli as his agent before becoming the latest high profile name to side with Raiola.

Verratti has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona this summer but PSG always assumed it was Di Campli pushing for the move rather than the 24-year-old himself.

Unai Emery’s side have always maintained they have no interest in selling Verratti to Barcelona this summer and are now primed to offer the central midfielder a significantly better contract in the wake of his decision to sign up with Raiola.

The 49-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most influential agents in football and already has close connections with the Ligue 1 giants due to the fact he boosts Blaise Matuidi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic among a glittering line up of cliental.

Verratti still has four years remaining on his existing PSG deal but Emery’s side will now move to reward their star midfielder with improved terms in a bid to quash Barcelona’s interest once and for all.

The Italian has established himself as one of the most gifted midfielders in Europe and his style of play is certainly synonymous to Barcelona’s philosophy. In fact, only Jean Michael Seri (2542) and team-mate Thiago Motta (2529) completed more passes than Verratti (2166) in Ligue 1 last season, while only Amine Harit (82) was fouled more times (Verratti – 79). The PSG No.6 also completed the most through balls in the division (15).

For more stats on Marco Verratti, click here to visit his WhoScored player page