Marlon Santos da Silva Barbosa is considered by many the new Thiago Silva, but not just because the Brazil captain also spent time developing as a player at Fluminense. The Paris Saint-Germain defender is also the reference point for Marlon, who has has passed through the Fluminense academy into the first team.

Joaquim Piera

At the Brazilian club they even say that Thiago Silva did not have as much quality. As a boy, from 2009 until 2014, Marlon played in the youth system at another club, Vasco de Gama. He started out as a midfielder, but in 2013, in a tournament in Germany, he dropped back to defence because of an injury to a teammate.

He has stayed there ever since, impressing a lot of people along the way. Marlon Santos is the third of the Fluminense players that FC Barcelona are following, along with Kenedy and Gerson.

Name: Marlon Santos da Silva Barbosa.

Place of birth: Duque de Caxias (Río de Janeiro).

Date of birth: September 7, 1995.

Position: Central defender.

Fluminense contract: Until December 30, 2017.

Characteristics: Good technique and quick, he caught the attention because of his coolness and the fact he hardly makes any fouls: in the 2014 Brasileirao he averaged 1.3 per game.