Wednesday 11 March 2015 08:58, UK
He's not lost a Champions League game this season and Manchester United were told in January he'd cost them £112m. So who is PSG's defensive star Marquinhos?
Ahead of Chelsea's Champions League second leg against the French champions, we profile the young man standing in their way of a quarter-final place.
Name: Marquinhos (Marcos Aoas Correa)
Age: 20
Position: Centre-back
Club: PSG
Nation: Brazil (four caps)
Marquinhos’ rise to the top level of world football has been nothing short of meteoric.
After making just six league appearances for boyhood club Corinthians and looking on from the bench as they won the 2012 Copa Libertadores, the Sao Paulo native was snapped up by Serie A giants Roma in a 3m euro deal at the age of 18.
The then-Brazil U17 captain played 26 times in his debut season in Europe, helping Roma to the Coppa Italia final, and earned plaudits from club legend and compatriot Aldair.
"At the young age he is at, he has impressed me when he has played at the Olimpico," the former Roma defender, who won Serie A with the club in 2000/01, said at the time. "Marquinhos is fast and responsive and has the right mentality."
Big-money move
Such was Marquinhos’ impact at Roma, PSG signed him for 31.4m euros in July 2013 – a remarkable sum for a player with just 32 senior league appearances to his name.
The transfer made Marquinhos the fifth-most expensive defender of all time but, unfazed, he immediately made his mark with the French club, scoring on his debut in a Champions League game at Olympiacos.
Marquinhos played 21 times in Ligue 1 as PSG wrapped up their second successive title and added the Coupe de la Ligue for a memorable double in 2013/14.
“He has huge potential and can get even better,” said PSG and Brazil teammate Thiago Silva.
International recognition
Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari called up Marquinhos in November 2013, and the defender made his first appearance for his country’s senior side in a friendly against Honduras.
Marquinhos then returned to Brazil’s U20 side to help them win the 2014 Toulon tournament - scoring in the final - but missed out on a spot at the World Cup.
However, following the hosts’ humbling in the summer, Marquinhos was selected by new Selecao boss Dunga as part of a new-look Brazil squad in the autumn, and seems set to play a key part in their 2015 Copa America campaign.
Transfer target
The centre-back – who made a late substitute appearance against Chelsea in last season’s Champions League quarter-final second leg – has previously been linked with Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal.
However, with David Luiz and Silva ahead of him in the pecking order at the Parc des Princes, it seems Manchester United could be set to bid for the talented youngster.
"They are looking at Marquinhos," Sky Sports News reporter James Cooper said last week. "He is certainly somebody who is on United's radar."
Whether Louis van Gaal is prepared to meet PSG's asking price remains to be seen, but Cooper is adamant there will be big money spent by United in the summer.
"I think the summer is going to be spectacular again," he said. "There is an awful lot of money to spend and there is a list of players."
