PSG’s David Luiz reveals nearly joined Barca in the summer

Paris Saint-Germain defender David Luiz has revealed he was close to signing for FC Barcelona over the summer.

The Brazil international, who joined PSG from Chelsea in a deal believed to be worth £50 million in the summer, will now line up against the Catalan giants in the highly-anticipated UEFA Champions League match at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

“It’s true that they came to feel me out a few times and it looked so good,” Luiz said. 

“But eventually I realised that the team that really wanted me and bought me was PSG.”

PSG (3-5-0) are currently five points adrift of table toppers Marseille (6-1-1) in Ligue 1, but Luiz is confident the club will hit top form in the near future.

“We’re growing over the weeks. We have to find a better version of our style of play,” added the former Chelsea defender.

“We know there is much room for improvement and we are aware that is how the big teams think.

“Over the years I’ve learned that if you think you’ve reached the top of the ladder then you are heading for a fall. That’s not a good mentality to have.

“You must be ambitious, with humility, because you can always improve. We are on the right road and PSG will get back to what they were last season.”

In addition, Azzurri midfielder Marco Verratti is not panicking, insisting Les Parisiens are stronger this season than last.

“I think we’re stronger,” Verratti told L’Equipe. “We all know each other better than a year ago. For the moment we’re not playing as well but there were drawn matches, like the one at Rennes, where we created a lot of chances.

“It’s true that we’re producing some so-so matches. But we’re not in crisis. We still haven’t lost any games. We just have to think about playing better and especially about scoring more goals.”

Under fire PSG boss Laurent Blanc might need a result against Barcelona to kick-start PSG’s 2014/15 season.

However, if he does not manage to get at least one point out of the game, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi might start looking at potential replacements.

Prior to this season, Les Bleus legend Zinedine Zidane would have been a candidate to replace Blanc, but Zizou’s short stint at Real Madrid Castilla has been a nightmare thus far.

Zidane’s side are currently bottom-of-the-table in Spain’s third-tier.

To make matters even worse for the Frenchman, he could be facing a ban of up to six months for violating Rule 104 of the CENAFE Code, which requires all head coaches in Spain to obtain a level three national coaching diploma.

Unfortunately, Zizou has yet to meet this qualification.