Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti has told the club he wishes to leave this summer, and as Barcelona prepare a bid of up to €100 million (£89m).                                                                                      Despite having four years to run on his contract, Verratti wants Champions League glory and sees the Camp Nou club as being a better alternative to PSG.

Reports claim the Italy international has specifically asked to join Barca, with them having made Verratti their top target following the arrival of new manager Ernesto Valverde.

Verratti's agent, Donato Di Campli, met with new PSG sporting director Antero Henrique on Monday to express his client's wish to leave and to make clear it was nothing to do with finances.

Despite that, the Ligue 1 outfit are desperate to keep hold of the 24-year-old and are set to offer him a new contract with the promise of creating a team that can compete with Europe's best.Even if he rejects the deal, PSG will fight to secure the future of one of their star players, with a club official telling Marca that: "Verratti is not worth €80m or €100m - he is not for sale."

Barca, meanwhile, are willing to play a waiting game so as to get their man without angering his current club, They value him in the same price range as Luis Suarez, and as such are willing to offer between €70-100m for a player that the Spanish giants see as having all the best qualities of both Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Should they be successful in signing him, they would then turn to Arsenal's Hector Bellerin to complete their main summer business, with Benfica's €50m valuation of Nelson Semedo forcing the club to look elsewhere for a new right-back.