Transfer news: Verratti compares Neymar links to Chelsea when discussing Barcelona snub

The Italian was strongly linked with a move to the Catalan giants with Barca desperate to splash the cash.

PSG suffered a disappointing campaign last term as they failed to retain their Ligue 1 title and never challenged in the Champions League that led to Verratti having concerns about his future.

One player who did complete the move in the opposite direction was Neymar, who joined PSG for a world record transfer fee.

Neymar had the chance to pocket more money at the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City but Verratti says the Brazilian, like himself, doesn’t go to a club for the money.

“I’m honest, for the first time in five years I wondered if I should stay here,” he told French newspaper L’Equipe.

“People think that I play for PSG for the money, but I could get that elsewhere, too. If I had moved in the summer, there were clubs ready to pay €100m to sign me and I would have earned a lot more.

“Neymar, he could have earned as much with Manchester City or Chelsea. He didn’t sign here for the money but the project. It’s the same with me.

“It was really complicated. I didn’t expect a summer like that. A lot of things happened that I did not like, among them people from my side. 

“They thought of themselves and not me. I never told PSG: ‘I want to leave.’

“The only thing I did was explain to them some things I didn’t understand. We went through some complicated times last season. 

“We didn’t live up to ourselves as a team that wants to win everything. We were asked to win everything and there were others a lot stronger than us.”

Verratti’s decision to stay at PSG looks to be a good one so far with the French giants winning 12 of their 13 competitive fixtures this season.