<
>

Marco Verratti signs new Paris Saint-Germain contract until 2021

Marco Verratti has put pen to paper on a new five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, which will tie the midfielder to the French champions until 2021.

"It's an honour, because the club has once again renewed its confidence in me and I accepted the offer immediately because it's also what I wanted because I want to keep winning with this club," he told the club website.

"We have already won a lot in France and I want to keep on winning and now we also hope to win in Europe because that's our aim, the club's aim. It's a very, very ambitious aim, but I'm a player that likes this type of objective because it means you play for a big team and I'm very happy."

The Italy international, 23, is regularly the subject of intense transfer speculation and this summer was no different. A stint in Munich for rehabilitation after groin surgery set tongues wagging about a potential reunion with former PSG coach, Carlo Ancelotti, at Bayern.

Real Madrid were also linked with Verratti recently, as a potential alternative to seemingly Manchester United-bound Paul Pogba, but Les Parisiens' star man shot down those rumours in a recent interview with Spanish news agency EFE.

However, PSG fans can now sleep soundly after Verratti reaffirmed his commitment to the capital club once again.

The former Pescara man's agent, Donato Di Campli, all but confirmed the news earlier on Tuesday when he tweeted pictures of his client signing on the dotted line at the club's offices and official confirmation followed in the afternoon.

Verratti, who has scored two goals and provided 18 assists in 106 Ligue 1 appearances, endured an injury-hit 2015-16 season in which he was limited to just 18 outings in Le Championnat -- only 11 of those were starts.

The PSG No. 6's frustrating campaign at Parc des Princes culminated in him being forced to miss the 2016 UEFA European Championships in France with Italy because of groin surgery in Doha, Qatar.

Following the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United, Verratti is one of the key figures in the PSG project on and off the pitch. However, he is still yet to feature under new coach Unai Emery this preseason -- despite having returned to full collective training a few weeks ago.

It is the fourth time that the Azzurri star has signed a contract with the Ligue 1 giants since arriving in the French capital on the same day as the super Swede back in 2012 and has gone on to become a fan favourite.

His regular contract renewals, the most recent of which came in February of this year, reflect his development from being a promising talent signed by then sporting director Leonardo to a genuine world-class talent.