During his run at Paris Saint-Germain, Maxwell had a front-row seat to watch Thiago Silva emerge as a leader and also see Marquinhos develop as a stern center-back. The former Brazilian left-back spent six seasons at PSG, where he was teammates with both Silva and Marquinhos for three of those campaigns.
In speaking to So Foot, Maxwell reflected on what it was like to play alongside these two veteran Brazilian center-backs, where he drew a notable comparison between their personalities on the pitch.
“Both are incredible leaders,” Maxwell said. “I have a special relationship with Marqui, affection and a great joy to have accompanied him, and helped him a little. I have seen him evolve, and he played on my side. He arrived very young, but he knew how to deserve his place in the hinge.
“He has a personality perhaps a little more open than Thiago Silva, but both were phenomenal partners in central defense.”
Marquinhos has become quite a vocal player on the pitch ever since now-former PSG manager Thomas Tuchel handed him the captain’s armband following Silva’s move to Chelsea. Just this season, he has stepped up to the calling of being a reliable defender for PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino, logging 31 starts in Ligue 1 play.
Marquinhos is set to cap off his campaign in PSG’s Ligue 1 season finale against Metz.