Barcelona should pay whatever price to seal Marco Verratti's transfer

In the coach's column this week, Pako explains why Barcelona should make a decade-defining signing

Verratti could not be more perfectly suited for Barca, writes Pako (AFP/Getty)

Marco Verratti is the talk of the summer in Barcelona. And the reality is that the club should do absolutely everything in their power to sign the Italian midfielder – the perfect heir to Andrés Iniesta.

It seems a little like his availability this summer came as a surprise to Barca, given they had already drawn up a list of transfer targets including Hector Bellerín, Ander Herrera, Gerard Deulofeu and Ousmane Dembele.

Verratti has asked to leave, which - knowing PSG’s owners - still might not be enough to force an exit. But it was the player putting himself on the market and making it known he wants to play for the Nou Camp club.

Given the economics of any possible deal, Barcelona would effectively face a choice between signing Verratti or their other list of players. And they should choose Verratti. No doubt.

The game that comes to mind is the 4-0 win over Barcelona in Paris, where the Italian pulled the strings and repeatedly carved open the Barca defence. He was unplayable.

Verratti provides the salida but also the pausa. The former is best translated as an ‘out ball’ in English. He allows the team to build from the back – as is Barca’s ideology – and he starts attacks by taking the ball from defenders or the goalkeeper.

The pausa is a term used often to describe South American playmakers and it refers to the ‘pause’ as a playmaker stops or slows the play for a moment to allow the ideal option to come available for them. Think of Juan Román Riquelme in his pomp, putting his foot on the ball before picking out a slide-rule pass to split a defence.

There are players who provide the salida or pausa but very few who do both so well. Verratti is a natural, but he also has the instincts to always try and play the ball forward as quickly as possible to break the lines. He can pick holes to find forwards on the counter-attack, as he did so well with Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani in that 4-0 destruction of Barca. But he can also find the key pass against massed defences – something Barcelona often find themselves facing.

They couldn’t score against Juventus over 180 minutes in the Champions League this season and that wasn’t through a lack of attacking talent, but the inability to find those players in the right positions.

Verratti’s positional play is some of the best I have seen. He creates angles for teammates to find him in the way that Xavi did. The ball arrives and he already has a number of options he can use immediately. He moves with intelligence and energy.

Verratti in action against the man he could succeed as Barca's heartbeat (AFP/Getty Images)

Compare that to some of the players that Barcelona have had in their midfield over the last season and it is very different. They have lost Xavi, they are going to lose Iniesta and soon they’ll have just Sergio Busquets. They have tried with Andre Gomes, with Arda Turan and Denis Suarez but they aren’t players who are capable of running a game… just running around.

Barcelona is a club whose philosophy is all about playing with the ball, and Marco Verratti is a rare talent in that department. That is why they should get him at all costs.