Captain of PSG since the departure of Thiago Silva, Marquinhos has seen his status weakened this summer. The Brazilian no longer appears as an indisputable holder and the question of the armband inevitably arises.
A page turned this summer at PSG. And the first composition lined up by Luis Enrique on Saturday is the best illustration of this. No less than six recruits had been established and several executives were missing. In addition to Kylian Mbappé, who had not yet left the loft, Marco Verratti and Marquinhos were thus also absent. But if the first is clearly pushed out, the second always enters the plans of the Parisian leaders.
But while he appeared until this summer as an indisputable holder, the central defender saw the arrival of two heavy competitors with Lucas Hernandez and Milan Skriniar. The two recruits were also lined up on Saturday, the tricolor world champion in the left lane where he must replace Nuno Mendes, injured. But diminished during the week, the former Roman had to settle for the bench, Luis Enrique preferring Danilo Pereira.
Reflection on the armband
“I will change the positions a lot, change the holders. If you have to be a title contender, you need 20 players and not just 11”, justified the Spanish technician at the end of the meeting. But this stated desire to rotate raises the question of the captaincy. On Saturday, Danilo Pereira picked up the armband. And to believe Le Parisien, “no decision has been made. The management and Luis Enrique are thinking internally about this status”. And the reflection could be long.
Among the vice-captains chosen by Christophe Galtier last season, Sergio Ramos has already left the club, Marco Verratti has been invited to follow him and Presnel Kimpembe has not finished with his recovery after his serious Achilles tendon injury and He too will have to contend with stiff competition in central defence. Obviously remains Kylian Mbappé. But despite his return to the group, his contractual situation and his degraded image do not plead in his favor for the moment…