Europe 1 with AFP 9:08 p.m., January 01, 2023
Italian midfielder Marco Verratti is playing his 400th game for Paris Saint-Germain, Sunday against Lens for the 17th day of Ligue 1, and is approaching the club record, Jean-Marc Pilorget's 435 games.
Marco Verratti celebrates his 400th match with PSG this Sunday evening.
Arrived in 2012, the 30-year-old "Little Owl" ("Gufetto" in Italian) has extended his contract until 2026, the club announced on Wednesday before the match against Strasbourg (2-1 victory).
Verratti could double next season Pilorget, a defender who played at the club from 1975 to 1989 (with a one-season loan to Cannes in 1988-1989).
Brazilian defender and captain Marquinhos, who arrived in 2013, is not far behind: "Marqui" is playing his 386th match in red and blue at Lens.
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"An exceptional player"
"Marco, we may call him "Marc" at some point, he is very Parisian, Paris Saint-Germain," joked coach Christophe Galtier on Friday.
"A few years ago (the Italian technician) Carlo Ancelotti told me about an exceptional player, ten years later he is exceptional, surely the best in his position in the world", added the Parisian coach about Verratti.
"It was obvious to me that my story would continue to be written here," reacted the player in a press release issued at the announcement of his extension.