At a dinner in 2012, agent Donato Di Campli introduced himself to Nasser Al-Khelaifi and declared: "I have the future star of world football. His name is Marco Verratti!"
According to Di Campli, the bemused Paris Saint-Germain president replied: "What are you talking about?!"
But Al-Khelaifi's sporting director, Leonardo, already knew all about Verratti.
The Brazilian had only arrived in Paris the year before, after spending the previous two seasons coaching, first, AC Milan, and then, city rivals Inter.
Leonardo was acutely aware, then, of the emergence of prodigious talent at Pescara who was being touted as 'The new Andrea Pirlo' after helping the Delfini win the 2011-12 Serie B title in scintillating fashion under Zdenek Zeman.
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So, just a few days after his bold proclamation, Di Campli received a message from Leonardo saying: "I would like to talk to you."
At the time, Verratti had been widely expected to join Juventus, whom the playmaker had supported as a boy.
Though the Bianconeri were desperately searching for a worthy successor to Pirlo, they were unwilling to match PSG's offer of €12 million (£10.3m/$14.3m).
Consequently, the teenage midfielder ended up at the Parc des Princes before he had even made a single appearance in Serie A.
Verratti has since gone on to play more games in the Champions League for PSG than any other player in the club's history, while at the same time winning a staggering 27 trophies.
And yet the Italian's qualities remain unknown to some, and underestimated by others.
Indeed, the nature of his display in his nation's final group game last weekend, a 1-0 win over Wales in Rome, seemed to come as a surprise to many observers.
But then, that may have had something to do with the fact that this wasn't just his Euro 2020 debut, it was his first ever outing in the continental competition.
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Having missed France 2016 through injury, Verratti hadn't even appeared in a major international tournament since featuring twice in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, given Italy sensationally failed to qualify for Russia 2018.
However, while he has been unfortunately plagued by fitness problems, the 28-year-old has also provoked plenty of criticism during his time at PSG, and some of it legitimate.
There is no denying that Verratti took too many risks in possession when he was younger. Both Carlo Ancelotti and Laurent Blanc have publicly admitted that there were times when they were driven to distraction by Verratti's propensity for taking players on in his own third of the field.
It was just part of who he was, though. And how he viewed the game.
Verratti stated when he was younger that he struggled to control his temper. Indeed, some referees even used to warn him before Ligue 1 games :"Behave yourself and don't protest so much!"
However, while he found defeat incredibly difficult to take, he has also admitted that victory isn't always the ultimate satisfaction for him. He wants to come off the field having enjoyed himself.
"Football is entertainment," he once told L'Equipe . "A beautiful touch is better than a physical action. Sport is becoming more physical, more tactical, and therefore less spectacular, because teams are afraid of losing."
Verratti, though, never seemed remotely afraid of losing possession inside his own area, such was his confidence in his own ability.
Of course, his on-field fearlessness may also have been shaped by his childhood. Football has never seemed so scary given he has known true terror, having seen his native region of Abruzzo hit by a devastating earthquake in 2009 when he was still only 16 years of age.
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"It was so horrible," he told Sky Sport Italia years after a tragedy which claimed the lives of 308 people. "I was sleeping and I woke up with a feeling I had never felt before in my life.
"Then, we slept in the car for two weeks. During the period after the earthquake, I even stopped playing football. But you need to be strong and look forward; it's the only way to get over difficult moments."
He's had some tough times on the pitch, too. And his fair share of criticism.
In 2017, former France international Christophe Dugarry infamously questioned both Verratti's quality and character.
"Verratti is anything but a great player," the retired forward told RMC Sport. "He's a good player, but what has he achieved? Every six months he appears in the media asking for a raise, but he is often injured because his way of life is not the right one.
"After Ibrahimovic's departure [from PSG in 2016], Verratti should have become a leader: instead, it just went to his head thinking he could do whatever he wanted, including going to Barcelona under any circumstances."
That move never materialised, of course, although not for the want of trying according to Di Campli.
He had told Verratti that if he wanted to be regarded as a true "champion" he would have to leave the "weak" Ligue 1 and prove himself a star in Spain. Barca wanted him too, but instead of signing Verratti from PSG in the summer of 2017, they ended up losing Neymar to the Ligue 1 giants.
In addition, Di Campli claims that his attempts to secure his client a transfer to Catalunya ultimately led to Verratti being pressured into firing him.
Whatever the truth behind that professional break-up, Verratti is probably thankful that he never joined Barcelona, who are still dealing with the devastating financial effects in the wake of Josep Maria Bartomeu's ill-fated tenure as president.
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However, one wonders whether Verratti's arrival would have transformed and revived a team in decline. Remember, it was Xavi himself who felt that the Italian was the ideal player to replace him at Camp Nou.
"He's one of the best midfielders in the world, and plays a little bit in the same way as I tried to do," the Barca legend stated in 2015. "He has perfect mastery over long and short passing, he can play the final ball, and he doesn't lose possession that easily. He's really a very high-class player."
And now it seems he's finally poised to convince the world of that fact.
Almost fittingly, Verratti missed the start of Italy's Euro 2020 campaign through injury, and Manuel Locatelli shone in his absence, against Turkey and Switzerland.
However, Verratti put on a clinic in the win over Wales, showcasing exactly why so many consider him the most complete midfielder in the game by completing more passes, creating more chances and making more tackles than any other player on the pitch.
A player who had been out of action for six weeks made it all look so ridiculously easy, meaning Italy coach Roberto Mancini has a major call to make ahead of Saturday's last-16 showdown with Austria at Wembley – recall Locatelli or stick with Verratti.
Tellingly, even Locatelli himself admitted after his two-goal haul against Turkey that he couldn't wait for his team-mate's return to full fitness, as "Marco is someone who can always make the difference".
A combination of misfortune, injury and ill-discipline have held Verratti back in the past in that regard, but Mancini never considered leaving him out of his squad for the Euros.
He knew that Verratti would prove worth the wait. And now "the future star of football" might just be about to belatedly garner global acclaim.