Fresh from captaining the Italy national team to a 5-0 win against Liechtenstein in the EURO 2020 qualifiers, the PSG man made some interesting revelations when discussing his profession and playing style with RMC Sport in France.
The 26-year-old is undoubtedly one of the best footballers in the world and he believes keeping the game beautiful is somehow more important than winning.
“I’d rather concede a goal than just hoof the ball up field without a clear idea of who I am passing it to. I just hate that, I cannot do it and I won’t do it.”
“It’s hard to explain. I just think some people were born to play football, so your feet start doing things by themselves. You might think I’m crazy for saying that, but sometimes I don’t even realise I’m doing it.
“I have my own way of playing, so I try to follow that and not to change things too much. I’ve been fortunate to have Coaches who see football the same way as I do, who want possession and try to let me go with my instinct. I really like the role I have in the team.”
One criticism of Verratti’s game is his lack of goals, with just five league goals to his name during his time in France, but he has defended his inability to find the back of the net more often while accepting he needs to improve in that aspect.
“I’m not Roberto Carlos, but I do have a decent shot. Sometimes I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do and prefer to pass it to a teammate in a better position, because he’s more likely to score than me from 30 metres out.
“It’s not my main role, but people do tell me to score more goals and I would like to find the net a little more often.”
Verratti joined PSG from boyhood club Pescara in the summer of 2012 after helping them gain promotion to the Serie A.
