Al Arabi SC have completed the signing of Marco Verratti from Paris Saint Germain for a fee of €45 million.
Verratti has signed a two-year deal with the Qatari club, which will see him remain at the club at least until June 30, 2025.
Confirming the arrival of Marco Verratti to Al Arabi SC, the Doha-based club put out a catchy video across its social platforms.
Al Arabi signing Marco Verratti
The video showed transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealing the arrival of the Italian with some statements.
Al Arabi captioned the 44-second video with the catchphrase Romano, which represents: “HERE WE GO”.
Verratti spent 11 years at Paris Saint Germain, having joined the club from Pescara on July 18, 2012.
He had a successful spell at the Parc Des Princes winning 30 trophies, including; 9 Ligue 1 titles, 6 Coupe de France, and 9 Trophée des Champions.
PSG also shared a farewell video for Marco Verratti on their social media platforms, which showed when the midfielder first signed for the club and several of his magical scenes for the club.
It also showed several trophy winning moments with Paris Saint Germain, as they bid bye-bye to a club legend.
Nasser Al Khalaifi farewell tribute to Marco Verratti
PSG’s president Nasser Al-Khalaifi also sent his heartfelt tribute to Marco Verratti and he thanked the 30-year-old and his family for his contributions to the club.
Al-Khalaifi said: “I would like to sincerely thank Marco and his family on behalf of everyone connected to Paris Saint-Germain.
“He will always be part of the Club. We wish him the best in this new adventure.”
Verratti made 416 appearances for Paris Saint Germain, scoring 11 goals and providing 61 assists across all competitions.
Excerpt from his goodbye speech to the Parisians reads: “Paris, the Club and its supporters will always have a very special place in my heart. I will be Parisian forever.”
Marco Verratti becomes that latest star in less than a week to seal a deal to a Qatari club, with Philippe Coutinho joining Al-Duhail on September 8, 2023, on a season long loan deal.
Verratti at Al Arabi
He becomes the 9th signing for Al Arabi this summer, having signed Abdou Diallo, Simo Keddari, Mohamed Taabouni, and Omar Al-Somah.
The Red Devils have also signed Youssef Msakni, Jasem Al-Hail, Ahmad Moein Doozandeh, and Mohamed Alaaeldin this summer.
Al Arabi sit 6th in the Qatar Stars League, with 3 points from 3 matches, as they have played out a draw in all their league games so far.
They will be hoping and eagerly expectant that Verratti eschews his brilliance for the Qatari club, and the 30-year-old is expected to make his debut on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
Younes Ali’s side face off against Al-Rayyan on Saturday, September 23, 2023, in their next Qatar Stars League encounter.
Meanwhile, Marco Verratti will be teaming up with defender Abdou Diallo, who also joined Al Arabi this summer, and Brazil midfielder Rafinha, who he played alongside at Paris Saint Germain.
Rafinha joined the Qatari club on September 3, 2022, from Paris Saint Germain on a free transfer.
The deals that have been done between PSG and Al Arabi in the last few years definitely indicate the remarkable relationship that exists between the two clubs.
