PROFILE | PSG captain Marquinhos end years of hurt in cathartic 2025 | OneFootball

The final whistle had not even been blown when the tears began to flow for Marquinhos. The ever-present club captain has been there since the start of the QSI quest for their holy grail. One of the first recruits when the Qataris took over Paris Saint-Germain in the early 2010s, he has witnessed all of their failures to secure that elusive Champions League title, failures sometimes comical in nature but always spectacular. 

And despite all of PSG’s domestic domination, the UCL always eluded him and his club, and as the years progressed, the failures mounted, the stars came, the stars left again, he represented continuity, the one element that did not change as PSG found different ways to stumble on the European stage; in a way, justly or unjustly, he became the image of those failures, the common denominator, especially since his inheritance of the captain’s armband. 

And so you can empathise with Marquinhos’ tears, regardless of his status as captain of a club that divides opinion both in France and beyond. It was a moment of pure catharsis as the Brazilian wept, his side 5-0 up against Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena and on their way to their maiden Champions League title.

Zabarnyi and the succession plan

It was a moment that looked like it would never arrive for Marquinhos, whose prime years are now in the rear-view mirror. The Brazilian had been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia the previous summer, reports of a move to the Gulf State against last summer were rife, and those rumours are not going away, especially since the arrival of Ilia Zabarnyi from Bournemouth is a clear sign of succession planning; it is a symptom of demise, albeit a very gradual one.

His best years being behind him make him an outlier in this youthful PSG squad, whose best years are still ahead of them. But that is what makes him important to this PSG side. As teams trend younger and younger, Les Parisiens light the way and show why experience still has its place. Because it is in those vague intangibles that Marquinhos’ continued value is evident. 

He is someone who garners huge respect from all elements of the PSG dressing room; he is a federator, a nexus point through which everything flows. A lusophone in a dressing room formed of a strong core of Portuguese players, he has also mastered the French language during his 12 years in the French capital, and whilst he isn’t one for long rambling speeches, his leadership is one respected by the PSG squad. That has been evident over the past three summers. It was rumoured that PSG were looking to strip Marquinhos of the captaincy and so in 2023 put the question of the captaincy to a squad vote. Marquinhos came out on top.

Seemingly unhappy with the initial result, another vote, an anonymous vote, was held. Marquinhos won again. He won again in 2024, he won again in 2025. It is an emphatic show of faith in the veteran Brazilian. “With him, we have a great leader, a great colleague, and a great player,” said Vitinha, one of those Lussophone players whose seamless adaptation at the Parc des Princes has been aided by the club captain. 

The lowest-ranked of PSG’s outfield XI

The celebrations after the UCL win were also telling. “When you see how everyone wanted to celebrate with him last season after Champions League, that says a lot,” says Luis Enrique, the instigator of that initial captain vote upon his arrival back in 2023, but who like all those that pass through the PSG dressing room, has been won over by the Brazilian.

But in order to be a legitimate captain, you also have to be on the pitch. That remains the case, although for how much longer is a very valid question heading into 2026. Marquinhos is the lowest-ranked of PSG’s outfield players in this year’s GFFN 100. He was certainly outshone by those around him across the year on a purely sporting level. In the backline, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi are arguably the best full-backs in the world in their respective positions, and Willian Pacho, his centre-back partner, features within our top 10. The Ecuadorian is the more imposing, the more progressive on the ball, too. To be entirely reductive, he is the better defender. 

Marquinhos’ strength in 2025, bar his leadership and experience, his most valuable qualities, has been his consistency and his error-free performances. He isn’t the most expansive player and so to go under the radar is not a bad thing and the Brazilian did that this year. 

Marquinhos reaches 500-appearance mark

His passing figures (pass completion percentage) were the best in Ligue 1 last season, the second best in Europe’s top five leagues. On the face of it, he is a progressive passer, too, given that he ranked fifth in the league for passes into the final third last season. But those stats are somewhat deceptive. The latter statistic is merely the result of PSG’s territorial dominance, which means that Marquinhos’ simple balls into midfield or out to his full-backs bolstered these numbers. The truth is that Marquinhos is not the most expansive of defenders. Naturally, therefore, you can call into question his long-term place in this PSG side.

But he has assured that when he does leave, he will do so as a true club legend. In November, he made his 500th appearance for the club and in that time, he has become the most decorated player in PSG’s history. 10 Ligue 1 titles, eight Coupe de Frances, six Coupe de la Ligues, 10 Trophée des Champions, one FIFA Intercontinental Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, and crucially, one Champions League have secured his legacy.

“I will give everything to stay at PSG as long as possible,” said Marquinhos at the end of November. Whilst his impact on the pitch may be on the wane, his contribution in PSG’s historic year was far from negligible. He has given his career to PSG, his outburst of emotion in Munich shows he has given his life, too, but questions about how much more he has to give are valid looking into 2026 and beyond.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle