Marco Verratti jokes that Kylian Mbappe’s Madrid trip ‘made me sick’

Marco Veratti PSG October 2021

Marco Verratti says he felt “sick” when he saw Kylian Mbappe was in Madrid last week amid the ongoing speculation surrounding the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Mbappe, 23, is free to leave Paris at the end of the season and he visited Madrid last week with team-mate Achraf Hakimi. The forward though explained to Verratti that he was on “holiday”.

However, the France forward is expected to sign for the LaLiga champions. He claimed this week his future was almost resolved.

“It will be known very soon, it’s almost done,” Mbappe said. “My decision is made, yes, almost. Why was I so slow? You have to respect all parties.”

A number of sources, including The Athletic have reported that Mbappe has agreed to sign for Los Blancos. And he will reveal all before he meets up with Les Bleus in June.

Verratti acknowledges that whatever decision Mbappe makes will be significant for PSG. And he has made it clear he wants the forward to stay in the French capital.

He told Le Parisien: “It will have an impact on the club, whatever his decision will be. He’s one of the best players on the planet right now so we all want him to stay here. But when I speak with him, it’s more just to have a laugh.

Verratti: ‘We’re all waiting to find out’

“In football, when you have something on your mind, if a decision is coming up, you don’t talk about it.

“It’s his decision, and I’m waiting for it like you are.

 

“When I was on my day off and I saw a notification saying that Kylian is in Madrid, it made me sick [laughs].

“Even if afterwards he told me: ‘Don’t worry, I was on holiday’. We’re all waiting to find out.”

Asked if he gives Mbappe advice about his future, the midfielder said: “No, because he knows what I think.

“I wouldn’t be a good advisor, in any case not an objective one. I wouldn’t be thinking about his own good, but that of everyone here in Paris.”

Kylian Mbappe PSG May 2022

Verratti was also asked about the ill feeling at PSG which has emerged due to the club’s poor results.

Their last-16 elimination from the Champions League against Real Madrid was a sore point with their fans. And the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar have been jeered at the Parc des Princes.

“I don’t think their anger is just linked to results. The Madrid game was the eye-opener for all of that, but there were great expectations at the start of the season,” added Verratti.

PSG fans upset 

“It was being said that [director] Leonardo and Nasser [Al-Khelaifi, president] had brought in big players, and now it’s their fault if we’re not winning? It’s too easy to say that.

“Supporters are allowed to whistle but not during a match. During the game, we are all together. Sometimes it feels like we’re not playing at home anymore.

“It’s difficult to understand. We need the supporters, and there are other ways to get your anger across. We can talk, for example.

“I have no issue with [talking to the fans]. If it’s a discussion like today, calm and respectful, then yes.

“I know that the fans spend a lot of money on season tickets and on away games. So they are allowed to clap or whistle at the end of games, but if we all want to grow together, we shouldn’t throw everything in the bin.

“It’s hard to take, but we were knocked out by Real Madrid, who are a great team.”

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