Pep Guardiola loves Marco Verratti. Guardiola praises him after Paris Saint-Germain beat his Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions League match in Paris.
Credit for image of how Pep Guardiola loves Verratti quote goes to ESPN FC.
Verratti of course enables Neymar, Messi and Mbappé have more free roles on the field by acting as the anchor of the team – keeping possession of the ball and controlling the midfield. Without Verratti PSG would be in disarray. And Verratti was the key for Italy this past summer, helping them win the Euro tournament. No wonder Guardiola is in love with Verratti.
Reporter: Could you specify the qualities of Marco Verratti that you’ve seen tonight, please?
Pep Guardiola: I’m in love. He’s an exceptional player.
Specifically, Guardiola loves Verratti for how he is calm under pressure. Surely Verratti reminds him of Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi who were is key players while he was manager of Barcelona.
Here’s the post game press conference where Guardiola says he’s in love with Verratti.
I do wonder sometimes what some of Guardiola’s own Manchester City players think of these comments or when he praises a player on an opposing team. Do they worry he’s going to try to sign that player and they’ll lose their position? But Manchester City players are pros and world class, having accomplished so much already that I’m sure they don’t worry.
Guardiola is in love with Verratti because he’s the maestro on the soccer field for Paris Saint-Germain!
