Marco Verratti was absent from the first call-ups by new Italy coach Luciano Spalletti. However, it wasn’t a choice of the manager. The midfielder decided not to be involved in the first seasonal international break for a couple of reasons, L’Equipe reports (via OneFootball).
The midfielder is in poor physical condition following a challenging summer. He didn’t play in the early matches. He was feuding with PSG, and his departure was looming. He’ll join Qatari club Al Arabi after being close to Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli in recent weeks.
Verratti surprised the Italy staff both with the choice not to come to Coverciano and the decision to transfer to the Middle East. Barcelona and Bayern Munich tracked him as well during the recent transfer window.
In the end, the PSG brass elected not to send him to Saudi Arabia also for geopolitical reasons. The club will cash in €50M. The player will earn €30M per year. He leaves the French capital after 11 years, where he collected 416 appearances, scored 11 goals, and provided 61 assists. He contributed to winning the Ligue 1 nine times and both domestic cups on six occasions.
Marco Verratti will land in Doha on Monday in order to sign in as new Al Arabi player 🛩️🇶🇦 #AlArabi
Here we go and plan confirmed, as revealed in the morning. ✨🇮🇹
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2023
Sans Verratti, Italy selected Sandro Tonali, Bryan Cristante, Nicolò Barella, Manuel Locatelli, Davide Frattesi, and Matteo Pessina. Lorenzo Pellegrini got hurt in practice. The national team future of the former Pescara ace figures to be up in the air.
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