FC Barcelona have significantly strengthened their midfield over the last summer transfer window. The club brought in the highly decorated Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City and also got back Oriol Romeu from Girona to provide more steel and stability to the midfield.
However, these were not the only midfielders that Barcelona wanted to bring to the Catalan capital this summer. Bernardo Silva was one of the dreams of the Catalans this summer, but Manchester City were unwilling to part with the attacking midfielder.
Barcelona wanted to loan Verratti
Another player that Barcelona wanted this summer was Marco Verratti from PSG. The midfielder has almost completed his move to the Qatari side Al Arabi, and only an official announcement is remaining. With this move, Verratti will conclude his eleven years at the Parisian club, who will receive €45 million with this move.
The player could have still continued playing in Europe, as a number of top European clubs were interested in his signature. According to SPORT, Barcelona were one of the clubs interested in him and wanted to get him on loan this summer. Other European sides interested were Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
PSG wanted a full sale
All these European clubs, including Barcelona, were trying to get the midfielder on a loan, but PSG did not want to contemplate such an option. They wanted to permanently sell him and wanted €100 million in terms of a transfer fee for him.
The fact that his contract ran till 2026 with PSG made things even more complicated for these sides, and his salary was also quite high, reaching up to €14 million gross each year.
This is not the first time that Barcelona have been interested in the Italian midfielder. The Catalans already tried to sign him in 2017, but Verratti ended up extending his contract at PSG that year. Barcelona also ended up losing Neymar to PSG that season and thus suffered a double blow from the Paris-based outfit that season.
