Marquinhos looking to add missing jewel in his crown

If there is a player who embodies the recent history of Paris Saint-Germain, it's undoubtedly Marquinhos. Since he arrived in the French capital in the summer of 2013, the Brazilian defender has become a pillar and a known leader for every manager he has worked with. The Sao Paulo-born defender has built a remarkable career, collecting trophies wherever he went.

With 33 titles in his PSG career, he dreams of adding another, if not the most important jewel, to his crown: the Champions League. Europe's elite club competition is the missing trophy in Marquinhos's stacked trophy cabinet. His obsession with winning the trophy is deep and rooted back to the lost final on August 23, 2020, in Lisbon.

In a season hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, PSG fell to a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, who lifted the trophy at the Estadio Da Luz thanks to Kingsley Coman's winning goal. Having won all of his previous 19 finals with the Parisians, the loss tasted bitter and rather unfamiliar for the 31-year-old. On May 31, Marquinhos will play his 25th career showpiece.

His other titles are spread between his spell at Roma and his international career with Brazil. With the Giallorossi, Marquinhos reached the Coppa Italia final in 2012/13, while with the Selecao, he won two Copa Americas (2019 and 2021) and a gold medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Two more trophies are therefore added to his tally, bringing him up to a total of 35 titles. There is also the 2012 Copa Libertadores, won with Corinthians, although he never took the field in that competition.

The face of PSG's winning era

Marquinhos is the most decorated player in the history of Paris Saint-Germain, overtaking Marco Verratti, who sat at the top until January 2025. The skipper counts the most appearances (484) and most victories (343), also registering 41 goals and 12 assists from his role as a centre-back. A silent leader, Marquinhos has etched himself as the face of an ambitious and competitive PSG side.

12 consecutive campaigns with the Route et Blue in which he has maintained consistency, loyalty and top-level performances is a rare sight to see for a player in nowadays' modern football. But he still has plenty left to write in his professional career, which has stretched over 13 seasons between Brazil, Italy and France.

This season, he has been called upon for 3,437 minutes in 41 matches under Luis Enrique. And the trust seems to have paid off for both. PSG have completed a domestic treble, winning the French Super Cup, Coupe de France and Ligue 1. The Champions League remains the missing piece to cap off a remarkable year for the Parisians.

Marquinhos has ten different photos with a Ligue 1 title, nine with the French Super Cup, eight with the Coupe de France, six with the French League Cup, one with the Copa America and one more with the Olympic gold medal. Soon, he will find out whether he will be able to add the most anticipated photo, the one with the Champions League, which would enshrine him in PSG's history forever.