Al Hilal are close to agreeing a deal with Paris Saint-Germain for veteran Italian midfield star Marco Verratti, 90min understands.
The Saudi Pro League club have been locked in talks with PSG about Kylian Mbappe this week and lodged a world record bid worth £259m. But it has now become clear that they were not only in talks about the French star, with an approach for Verratti also going in.
Al Hilal are now close to agreeing a deal with PSG, having also offered a substantial three-year contract to the player to to lure him to Riyadh.
Al Hilal made their move after Verratti’s agents made a number of clubs aware that he was considering his options this summer. Atletico Madrid were also interested, but they could not get near matching the terms on offer in the Middle East.
Sources have told 90min that Verratti had developed a number of concerns about his PSG future. Among the issues were the treatment of teammates and good friends Neymar and Mbappe, playing a part in deciding the time has to move on from Parc des Princes.
New PSG boss Luis Enrique is understood to be a huge fan of Verratti and wanted to keep him. Instead, the club will go on without a player who first joined aged 19 in 2012, with Verratti set to complement an impressive Al Hilal midfield alongside Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
What we know
- Marco Verratti ready to move to Saudi Arabia
- Verratti set to link-up with Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
- Al Hilal also want his team-mate Kylian Mbappe