The Barcelona management might be looking at Verratti as a long-term successor to Andres Iniesta, who will possibly hang up his boots by the next World Cup. Whether they choose to act now or leave it to a later stage when Verratti is at the peak of his powers, remains to be seen. In any case, unless the Cules discover a midfielder of the same class as Xavi and Iniesta at La Masia, Verratti appears to be the perfect player to continue the tradition of the Blaugrana midfield, which has come to be so revered in modern times.