Marco Verratti has confirmed that he is staying at Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Barcelona have been strongly linked with a move for the 24-year-old since the end of the 2016-17 campaign, and it had been claimed that the midfielder was prepared to force a transfer to the Spanish giants in this transfer window.
Speculation that the Italian international could move to Camp Nou has quietened in recent weeks, however, and Verratti has claimed that while "there was something" with Barcelona, he will now stay at PSG.
The midfielder, meanwhile, also played down suggestions that Neymar's arrival in Paris influenced his decision.
"Barcelona? There was something, but that was as far as it went," Sky Sport Italia quotes Verratti as saying. "We didn't have any other negotiations. I decided to stay on this path and I'm happy for it. Did Neymar change my mind? I did way before. I never knew that Neymar would come here."
Verratti played the full 90 minutes as PSG opened their 2017-18 Ligue 1 season with a 2-0 win over Amiens on Saturday.
Matt Law
