Renato Marin could have a good card to play this Saturday for the Lorient reception (5 p.m.). With Lucas Chevalier’s thigh injury, and Luis Enrique’s desire to rest the starters before the Champions League semi-final return against Bayern, the young Italian goalkeeper is well on his way to playing his very first Ligue 1 match. If he already has an appearance in the Coupe de France (4-0 victory against Vendée Fontenay Foot on December 20), the 19-year-old bulwark has the opportunity to show his abilities at high level in a context where the place number 2 could open up to him in the event of Chevalier’s departure this summer.
Born in Brazil in 2006, the goalkeeper has already traveled quite a bit. First trained in Palmeiras then in São Paulo, he must make a very big decision with his family. After the covid-19 pandemic, she decided to move to Italy and contacted Roma to allow her to join the training center. Problem is, he is not 16 years old and FIFA does not easily authorize this change of club, especially to another continent, for a minor, even if the family provides proof of his presence there and moves without any reason related to football. Marin cannot be registered and even ends up returning to Brazil for a few months, before returning to Trigoria, only to train.
All the qualities of the modern goalkeeper
From there a certain frustration arose since he was an integral part of the team but could not participate in matches. He was also not crowned Italian U16 champion with La Louve, during a final that Marin had to watch from the stands. It is only from July 2022 and the age of 16 that the goalkeeper can finally show the extent of his talent. It doesn’t take long for him to come to the fore. Goalkeeper for the U17s, he was quickly promoted to the U18s and especially to the Primavera the following season where he was the starter. With his physique (1.90m) already very impressive for his young age, the native of São Paulo even trains with the pros and knows his first match sheets.
It was there that Italy spotted him and learned that he had dual nationality. The Squadra Azzurra will summon him from September 2023 to its U19s and he will be the team’s starter at the end of the season during the Euro in the category. Marin was even named best goalkeeper in the Primavera championship. Despite the blossoming of his great hope, Roma were slow to react and offer him a professional contract, something all the more surprising given that he became the team’s third goalkeeper and still had 27 call-ups, without ever playing. However, he has all the modern qualities in this position, an enormous physical presence, excellent on his line, the kicking game inherited from futsal.
A reference among young people
Free in June 2025, his situation arouses the interests of many clubs: Juve, Inter, Liverpool, OM and of course PSG. “A lot of good things are said about him in the youth categories. Not only because he is one of the most popular goalkeepers and his contract is about to expire, but also because he is a very skilled goalkeeper with his feet: he started out in futsal and, even as a child, he often took free kicks and penalties. He also has a characteristic, that of the ability to dribble to initiate phases of play. A characteristic which is becoming more and more important in modern football», wrote Tuttosport a little over a year ago.
PSG, who would follow him for 15 years after The Teamknew how to give the best arguments to enlist the one who was then called “the guardian of the future» in Italy. “He chose PSG because it is currently the biggest club in the world», justifies a member of his entourage in daily sports. In the shadow of Safonov and Chevalier, the Transalpine must for the moment be content with training sessions and a few matches with the reserves. “He has the technical and physical qualities. I like his workouts», Luis Enrique said of him at the start of the season. Now he could well take advantage of it against Lorient and show the general public that he is not just a reference among young people.
