Very outspoken before kickoff, Marquinhos endured a difficult match against Marseille on Thursday night — but it was still him who lifted the Trophée des Champions at the final whistle. Enough reason to enjoy the moment… and do a little teasing afterward.
“Champion, my brother!”
At PSG since 2013, Marquinhos knows better than anyone what a Classique represents, despite the gap between the two clubs in recent years. On Thursday in Kuwait, OM genuinely pushed PSG and arguably deserved more based on their performance — but in the end, the smiles were Parisian.
“Champion, my brother!”
exclaimed a beaming Marquinhos at the final whistle, before poking fun at Marseille:
“They thought they were going to win (laughs).”
Standing by his words
Before the match, the Brazilian centre-back had stated in a press conference that he was “never afraid” of facing Marseille — a comment that did not go unnoticed in the south of France. Despite an individually difficult evening, Marquinhos fully stood by his words.
Speaking to Ligue 1+, the PSG captain continued his playful jabs while acknowledging OM’s performance:
“It was tough! We have to give credit to our opponents. They believed until the very end.
Well, it’s a shame — they believed, but they didn’t make it,”
he said with a smile, before welcoming the return of real competition in France.
“Teams that push us help us grow”
Marquinhos also highlighted the value of being challenged:
“We knew it would be difficult. It’s a team that’s growing more and more.
It’s good to have teams that push us — it helps us grow, puts us under pressure, and forces us to perform at a high level at this stage of the season.”
Eyes already on what’s next
Despite lifting another trophy, the PSG captain knows improvement is required — starting with the next meeting against Marseille on February 8 in Ligue 1:
“These are decisive moments. There’s the Coupe de France, the Champions League, and league points to fight for.
We’re going to prepare to play a better match than today and win more comfortably.
We have a very demanding coach — he’ll definitely tell us where we need to improve. This team is always hungry for more.”
Another trophy lifted.
Another message sent.
And another Classique already on the horizon.