Marquinhos, Paris Saint-Germain’s 30-year-old central defender and captain, was at a press conference during Brazil’s international break. The Seleçao player, who is due to face Argentina on Wednesday at 1am (French time), was asked about the importance of Raphinha (28-year-old Barcelona winger) to the national team. He went so far as to make him a candidate for the Ballon d’Or, which upset some PSG fans.
Marquinhos “he will certainly be one of the great contenders.”
“Raphinha is a phenomenon. […] He’s one of the players fighting for the Ballon d’Or. If he continues like this until the end of the season, he’ll certainly be one of the great contenders.
He’s always taken responsibility on the pitch and in the dressing room. Always talking, always in conversations, always in meetings. So he’s always been a very important player for us,” Ouest-France reports.
Some people are hoping that Ousmane Dembélé (27-year-old striker for PSG and the French national team) will win the Ballon d’Or this season, and it’s thought that Marquinhos shouldn’t be supporting another potential candidate.
Quite apart from the fact that the Ballon d’Or still doesn’t fascinate us in this team sport, this kind of thinking/media game seems to us to be too much. It’s time to breathe, to take a step back.
The players are under no obligation whatsoever to support the winner of the Ballon d’Or. Players also have the right to appreciate and admire several of their counterparts. Especially as Marquinhos was at a press conference with Brazil and has every right to support a team-mate. All the more so at an important moment. It seems a shame to go looking for tension around almost nothing.
