Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal on penalties (1-1 in regulation time, 4-3 on penalties) this Saturday at the Puskás Arena in Budapest in the 2025-2026 Champions League final. After this victory, PSG defender and captain Marquinhos (32 years old) spoke to M6.
Marquinhos: “The team hit its stride at the right time.”
Are you truly part of the legend now?
It’s incredible! We said that once is historic, but twice is legendary. That’s been our motivation since we came back from vacation. The coach said that once is difficult, the second time is even more difficult. I think it’s been a long season; we’ve worked hard and suffered. We had difficulties at the beginning of the season. The team hit its stride at the right time. With a team like this, we can achieve great things.
Which do you prefer? The 5-0 or this one with penalties?
They’re different emotions. The first one was fantastic, regardless of the result, it was a very emotional experience. I’m happy with this one too, I’m happy!
Marquinhos: “PSG deserves to experience these moments”
Did you come off because of the emotions?
No, there are some very good penalty takers, it wasn’t going to happen to me (laughs).
A third one?
I think we have a coach who will push us for it. First, we have the World Cup, we hope we don’t have too much vacation time yet. Then, the coach will manage things, like he did. We had a full squad. We can’t stop now. We have to stay hungry. Otherwise, the club will fall into something we don’t want. PSG deserves to experience these moments. We suffered, we understood how we reached this level. We have to keep going like this.
Marquinhos: “Luis Enrique has managed to create a group that gets along well.”
What did Luis Enrique say at halftime?
He made a few tactical changes, he gave us some information. He works a lot on the mental aspect, he told us to keep going, to find the spaces. We couldn’t play passively. He gave advice on how to attack the spaces. It worked well, that’s how we got the penalty. We deserved it, we played a good match. They scored early, which made things difficult. But we deserved it.
Are you proud to play with these players? Do you have a great team spirit, are you united?
There are the training matches, the moments in the locker room. Luis Enrique has managed to create a group that gets along well. We know how important that is. We can still see the players coming onto the field; they are all important. We all win. He instilled that mentality.
