Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos has disclosed that Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães sent him a message of gratitude after Marquinhos consoled him following his penalty miss in the Champions League final. The match, held in Budapest, saw PSG retain their title with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory, after Gabriel's decisive spot-kick was saved.
Marquinhos, who immediately ran to comfort Gabriel instead of celebrating with his teammates, said in a news conference: 'A day later, I received a message from him thanking me for that moment, for the support, for the hug, and for the words I’d shared with him. I told him it had been my greatest victory that night, and that the reaction it generated was great.'
The Brazilian international added that his mother, wife, and family expressed pride in his gesture, calling it the best accolade he received that night. Marquinhos, who missed a crucial penalty for Brazil against Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, empathised with Gabriel's pain.
Marquinhos praised Gabriel's season, telling him: 'In my opinion, he was the best centre-back in the world this season. He simply didn’t deserve to carry that burden because, of course, we all want to score penalties. I told him that nothing about that moment would take away from the wonderful season he’d had and that we were going to need him very much.'
