Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne give Pescara hope in Serie B survival bid | OneFootball

Pescara, rock bottom of Serie B, have renewed hope after Lorenzo Insigne’s return. The forward is close to Marco Verratti, co-owner of his boyhood club since last summer.

Insigne, 34, left Napoli in summer 2022 for Toronto FC. On 30 January he said he wanted to return to Italy and chose Pescara to repay the faith shown 14 years ago. Verratti later told Gazzetta dello Sport that leaving for PSG in 2012 meant shelving his dream of playing for Pescara in Serie A, and that he might now realise it as co-president.

In 2011-12, Zdenek Zeman’s side swept Serie B with a bold approach, featuring Ciro Immobile, Insigne and Verratti. Insigne added he has excellent relations with the hierarchy and that Verratti pushed hard for the move, the pair speaking daily.

Verratti, 33, has been in Qatar for three seasons, at Al-Arabi then Al-Duhail since 2025. He was at the Stadio Adriatico in June to celebrate promotion and to formalise a 42% stake, matching president Daniele Sebastiani.

Sebastiani cautioned that Verratti’s network could help, but he was not a cash machine and should not risk what he had built. Recruitment focused on loans and free agents.

Pescara have been last since early December. They looked doomed before Insigne’s comeback after seven months out, and as captain he has scored two in four to underpin two wins that dragged them back into the survival fight. A late-career return as a player for Verratti at Pescara has not been ruled out.

Source: L'Équipe