Marcos Aoas Correa (born 14 May 1994), known as Marquinhos, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, which he captains, and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back or a defensive midfielder.
He began his career at Corinthians, and after winning the 2012 Copa Libertadores he moved to Roma for an eventual fee of €3 million. Marquinhos was a regular in his only season as Roma reached the Coppa Italia Final. In July 2013, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain for €31.4 million on a five-year contract, one of the highest fees for a player under the age of 20. He has won 25 trophies at the club, including seven Ligue 1 titles. Marquinhos played less frequently after the acquisition of compatriot David Luiz in 2014, returning to an integral role after the latter was sold in 2016.
Marquinhos made his full international debut for Brazil in 2013, and was part of their under-21 side which won the 2014 Toulon Tournament. He also represented the nation at the 2015 Copa America and the following year's Copa America Centenario, and won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics. He subsequently took part at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 Copa America and the 2021 Copa America, winning the 2019 title.
In terms of his playing position, Marquinhos is predominantly deployed as a central defender, but has also been used at right-back and in a central or defensive midfield role. He is noted for his anticipation, pace, and intelligence, as well as his technical skills, composure, passing ability, elegance on the ball, and confidence in possession, which enables him to break down attacks and subsequently play the ball out or start offensive plays from the back.
On signing for Roma, Marquinhos described himself as a quick player, with a good positional sense, who wins back a lot of balls, and who knows how to impose himself on a game due to his ability to start attacking plays from the back. He named Thiago Silva as his role model. In March 2015, Marquinhos told FourFourTwo that he compensated for his average height for a defender by honing his strength and timing, attributes he learnt from PSG assistant manager Claude Makelele. He praised manager Laurent Blanc, a former defender himself, for encouraging the PSG defenders to attack in set pieces and teaching them the correct positioning in that situation.
Fellow Roma defender Nicolas Burdisso said in August 2012 that Marquinhos was "a little phenomenon. He has speed, heading ability, he knows what to do, he is humble. He is a little Thiago Silva".
In January 2014, Marquinhos was named by British newspaper The Observer as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe. They wrote, "He has the temperament to remain undaunted, the talent to succeed, and could benefit from playing alongside his club team-mate, Thiago Silva, with whom he enjoys a solid understanding at wealthy Paris Saint-Germain." |
