Ex-PSG midfielder admits he dreamt of playing for Barcelona, names Iniesta as the best midfielder ever

Heading into the 2017 summer transfer window, Barcelona were dreaming of bolstering their midfield after a disappointing end to the season where they were overrun by Juventus in the Champions League and Real Madrid in the league.

Andres Iniesta was on his last legs, while Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets were massively underperforming.

During their 4-0 defeat against PSG, Barcelona kept a keen eye on Marco Verratti, and identified as their primary transfer target. The player was reportedly keen on joining, as well.

Unfortunately for them, the French outfit did not let the player leave, and instead ended up signing Neymar from the Catalans instead by triggering his €222 million release clause.

Six years down the line, the Verratti saga is one of the biggest ‘what-ifs’ in recent Barcelona history. The Italian would have replaced Busquets seamlessly, and added new life to the blaugrana midfield.

Now 30, Verratti left to join Al-Arabi in the summer for €45 million. Speaking in an interview with Alkass TV Sports, the former PSG midfielder was asked which team he dreamt playing for, and unsurprisingly, his answer was, “Barcelona.”

“They were a team whose style of play I liked very much.”

That was not the last mention he made about Barcelona, though.

Verratti also named Andres Iniesta as the greatest midfielder ever, and said that Barcelona were his favourite team.

He also chose Lionel Messi over Ronaldo, saying that the Argentine was, “The best in history.”

Finally, when asked about the worst match playing for PSG across 11 years, Barcelona’s 6-1 comeback over the Parisian side in 2017 took the crown for Verratti.