Marquinhos wants to return to Corinthians: 10 years in the youth ranks, a love that never faded
A Champions League winner with PSG and one of the most respected defenders in European football, Marquinhos carries a bond few would imagine: he is a Corinthians fan at heart and has openly declared his desire to wear the black-and-white shirt again before ending his career.
From the youth ranks to the European market at 18
Marquinhos spent about a decade in Corinthians’ youth ranks, from the age of eight. At the club, he won the 2012 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior and even trained with the first team while still a teenager. But his time with the senior side was short: only 15 matches before being sold to Roma, in Italy, for 3 million euros.
The then coach Tite did not want to let go of the young defender. Corinthians were living a special moment – on their way to winning the Brazilian Championship and preparing for the FIFA Club World Cup, which they would lift at the end of 2012. The board, however, decided on the sale. Marquinhos left the club at 18 and never returned.
Gratitude without regret
Despite the early departure, the defender holds no bitterness. On the contrary. In 2017, when Corinthians won the Brazilian title by beating Fluminense 3-1, Marquinhos followed the game closely and did not hide his emotion.
“I was very happy. I watched the game and it was moving. I was part of the 2011 title, I was training with the first team, so I know how difficult and special it is to win the Brazilian Championship,” declared the defender at the time.
On leaving the club, the tone was one of acceptance: “It was a short time, but everything happened the way it had to happen. I am very grateful for everything they did for me.” No regret, but clear longing.
The desire to return exists – and is public
Marquinhos does not leave the question open. He has already signalled that he wants to end his career at Corinthians. “I would like to return to Corinthians one day. That desire remains, to play for the club I have affection and love for,” he stated. It was ten years in the youth ranks, six months made official in the senior team – and a relationship European football has not erased.
Established at PSG alongside names like Mbappé and Neymar, and a central figure in the Brazilian national team, the defender has accumulated titles in Europe. But the pain of Brazil’s World Cup elimination contrasts with a personal certainty: Corinthians formed the man before PSG formed the champion.
