Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat produced some heartbreaking scenes.
The Gunners pushed PSG all the way in Munich and were just a penalty shootout away from lifting the European Cup for the first time in their history.
When Gabriel Magalhaes blazed Arsenal’s decisive penalty over the bar, the dream was over, and PSG’s players raced away to celebrate their triumph.
However, one PSG star – Marquinhos – did something very different, and he has now revealed that moment meant even more to him than winning the Champions League itself.
Now that you’ve all had time to reflect, why did Arsenal lose the Champions League final?
Marquinhos says consoling Gabriel Magalhaes was his greatest victory of the night
As soon as PSG won the shootout, most of their players sprinted towards their supporters.
After all, they had just become champions of Europe and were understandably desperate to celebrate one of the biggest achievements of their careers.
Marquinhos had other priorities.
The PSG captain immediately spotted Gabriel standing alone after his missed penalty, looking absolutely devastated.
The Arsenal number six had produced a magnificent performance over 120 minutes and was arguably the best player on the pitch, only to end the night as the man who missed the decisive spot-kick.
Rather than joining the celebrations, Marquinhos walked straight over to his Brazil teammate, embraced Gabriel, consoled him and spent time speaking with him while the rest of PSG celebrated around them.
The image quickly went viral and was praised across the football world. Now, Marquinhos has revealed just how much that moment meant to him.
He said, as per The Daily Mail: “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.
“My mum came over, proud of what I’d done, along with my wife, family and brothers. It was the best accolade I received that night.”
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Marquinhos showed exactly what football should be about
Winning trophies is what every player dreams about.
That is why it is remarkable to hear Marquinhos describe a hug as a greater victory than lifting the Champions League trophy.
Yet that is exactly why his actions resonated with so many people.
Football is fiercely competitive, but moments like this remind everyone that there are human beings behind the results.
Marquinhos saw a friend suffering one of the worst moments of his career and instinctively went to support him instead of celebrating.
Gabriel will never forget the pain of that missed penalty, but he almost certainly will not forget what Marquinhos did for him either.
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