Marquinhos is the most capped player in PSG history. Despite the arrival of players to compete with him, the Brazilian international plays in all of PSG's big matches.

A PSG player since the summer of 2013, Marquinhos is the most capped player in the club's history with 514 matches in all competitions. The No. 1 captain of the European champions for six years, Marquinhos, retains his place in the starting lineup for big matches.

Despite the signing of several right-footed central defenders in recent years, it is the Brazilian who is chosen by his various coaches to start PSG's big matches. At 31, Marquinhos is, alongside Lucas Hernandez (30), one of the only two thirty-somethings in the PSG squad with whom the Brazilian is playing his 13th season.

Where observers recently highlighted a rare loyalty, they now regularly emphasize this still-ordinary age on every difficult evening. Latest example Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, in the Champions League round of 16 first leg, L'Equipe reports.

By asking Achraf Hakimi to follow Enzo Fernandez everywhere against Chelsea (5-2), Luis Enrique freed up the right side of his defense and exposed his captain's lack of speed against Pedro Neto's driving runs, a weakness that was particularly visible in the Blues' second goal, the cited outlet analyzes.

"It's not the first time that 'Marqui' has suffered in wide duels. If the European title eased his quest and strengthened his deep bond with the Parisian public, it has not extinguished the criticism, at the heart of a defense which, collectively, is not the strong point recently."

Before PSG's trip to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Chelsea, the questions surrounding Marquinhos are accompanied by the murmur of a possible decline, because his performances reveal shortcomings more often than before, L'Equipe asserts.

Does that call his status into question? One need only observe Luis Enrique's team lineups to understand that the question is not yet radically posed, the sports daily explains.

"If the Brazilian retains credit, it is also because the Illia Zabarnyi option has so far been diversely convincing. To prepare for the future but also to facilitate the present, PSG recruited the Ukrainian, 23, from Bournemouth last summer, yet he appeared more in difficulty than his elder during the first half of the season, between heaviness, lack of tactical bearings, and even blunders."

The reality of the numbers for the 2025-2026 campaign is that Zabarnyi (22 starts, 6 appearances off the bench) has played more than him (20 starts, 3 appearances off the bench). But the captain was injured in early autumn; he was preferred for every showcase match once recovered (8/8 in UCL since Nov. 4, Intercontinental Cup, Champions Trophy), and of PSG's four defeats in 2026, he was only involved once, while Zabarnyi was involved three times.

The Ukrainian defender's recent outings are more positive and perhaps herald a rise in power, L'Equipe concludes.

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