500 matches: Marquinhos on his unbreakable bond with PSG | OneFootball

“It was a special match for you yesterday, beyond the result and the importance of the game: your 500th for Paris Saint-Germain. How did you experience that match? It was a special match, a Champions League game on top of that, we knew it would be tough. I really wanted the team to win so we could celebrate properly. Me, as a defender, I didn’t want to concede that goal we let in yesterday and that annoys me a bit because of that. But hey, I think it was a good match. I managed to control my emotions during the game. 500, that’s still huge.”

Do you realize it, Marquinhos? 500 matches with PSG, you arrived at 19, you’re 31 today… Sometimes no, Jérôme can tell you very well too, life moves so fast that sometimes we don’t realize what we’ve managed to do and accomplish. When I see the number in front of me, the medal, it sinks in a bit. Then people congratulate me, we talk a bit with people at the club who saw me arrive. It touches me a lot but sometimes, in our lives, things move so quickly that we don’t realize these numbers. But it’s really beautiful. What stands out the most for you at this club and what have you felt on the pitch? Yes, I’ve had some very beautiful emotions here. Winning the Champions League title is always number one. I think that’s the most significant moment for me. And not just for me, for all the supporters, for everyone who loves this club. It was really a special moment. But I could mention many others. My arrival, very young, while I was sick. When I arrived, the club trusted my talent and the year I had at Roma. The president put a lot of faith in me at that moment, even in tough times. And I value that a lot, because in the end it worked out, it paid off. This journey was really crazy, with good moments, with less good, tougher moments, for me in particular, for the club too. I grew up with these experiences, with those moments, and the club also grew with those moments and experiences. That’s why we’ve lived a bit of the same journey, me and the club. And that’s why it’s truly a deep connection.”

You’re the last survivor! There have been good times but also darker periods. We remember the remontada. I don’t want to rub salt in the wound but we have to talk about it. President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, it’s true he trusted you from the start. And then, you’ve grown, even him, through those failures and those great games. What did you put in place to bounce back every time you took a big hit? Yes, I think the president was a key figure in motivating us to bounce back. I’ve said it every time I could, and I’ll say it again. Because he never doubted me, or the players he had in his hands and in the group. He’s always been someone for whom the players here, wearing this shirt proudly, have always been the best in the world. He keeps saying it, even when we doubt ourselves, when the supporters doubt, when journalists doubt. The president has never doubted his team or his players. After that, my family has always been my fortress, so I could always bounce back in tough times. You’re basically French now! More than Brazilian! Almost! 13 years in France and 18 in Brazil.”

Do you want to finish your career in Paris? Do you want to be a one-club man and go all the way with Paris Saint-Germain? Honestly, I’m not saying no. We know that staying at the top level until the end of your career… because if you’re at PSG, you have to be at the top level and you have to be good, the competition is there, there are young players coming through, pushing and wanting their place. And you, you have to keep being very good until you’re 38, 37. I don’t know when I’ll end my career, I want to play for a long time, as long as possible, I think I’ll give everything for these colors. I’m 31, I’ve achieved a lot of goals, I don’t want to look for goals elsewhere as long as I feel good, happy, loved, as long as I feel I still have my place in the team, that the president is happy with my performances. And the coach too, because he’s the boss of the team. As long as I enjoy it, as long as I’m happy and they’re happy with my performances, why not. I’ll give everything so I can stay as long as possible.”

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