Marco Verratti was born in Pescara on 5 November 1992. He spent his youth career with his hometown team and during the 2011/12 season he burst onto the footballing scene. Pescara won Serie B and returned to Serie A after a 19-year hiatus. He made the headlines as one of the exceptional young talents in Europe and, having still not turned 20, earned a move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2012. He’s gone on to enjoy great success with the French side, winning six league titles, seven French Super Cups, five League Cups and four French Cups, as well as regularly playing in the UEFA Champions League.

Verratti’s international career started out in Italy’s youth ranks. He then went on to make his Under-21 debut in February 2012. His progression continued: on 12 May that year, he was called up by Coach Prandelli to pre-tournament squad ahead of the European Championship. Verratti didn’t make the final cut for the senior team, but he was key figure in the Under-21s’ second-place finish at the Under-21 European Championship in Israel. His performances led to him being selected in UEFA’s team of the tournament. He made his debut for the senior National Team on 15 August 2012 in a 2-1 friendly defeat against England in Bern, Switzerland: Verratti came on in the 59th minute as a substitute for Diamanti. He scored his first goal for the Azzurri on his third appearance on 6 February 2013, when Italy played out a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in a friendly in Amsterdam. He featured twice for Italy during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and became a key figure in Antonio Conte’s Italy team which qualified for the 2016 European Championship, but he missed the tournament due to injury.

Marco has made 36 appearances and has scored three goals for the National Team.