Marquinhos: "Barcelona and Man United wanted to sign me last summer"

Marquinhos: "Barcelona and Man United wanted to sign me last summer"

Just in case there was any doubt, Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos has confirmed that Barcelona did try and sign him last summer. 

The Brazilian was rumoured to be top of the Catalan club's list of central defenders, but the French club were unwilling to sell the Brazilian.

Instead, Barça turned to Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen, who is yet to make his first team debut. 

"Manchester United and Barcelona wanted me," Marquinhos told French channel Telefoot.

With David Luiz arriving from Chelsea and Thiago Silva already in Paris, it was thought the Ligue 1 champions may have been prepared to let the 20-year-old go, but that did not prove the case.

"Those two clubs negotiated with PSG but the club didn't want to sell me," Marquinhos added. 

"That gave me confidence. The president and the manager are happy with me. It would be good to renew [my contract] in Paris because I am happy here."

PSG boss Laurent Blanc has been signing the defender's praises recently and suggested a new deal could be on the cards.

"He is an excellent player, with an exceptional mentality and he is only 20," Blanc said. 

"He represents the future of PSG and for that reason we could not let him leave. We will do all we can to renew his contract."