Barcelona Suffer Blow in United Target Marquinhos' Chase

Barcelona have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos after French coach Laurent Blanc ruled out the possibility of the Brazilian's departure from the Parc des Princes this summer.

The 20-year-old - signed from Roma for around €31m (£25m) last summer and is under contract at PSG until 2018 - is aware that David Luiz's arrival at PSG is likely to see his first team appearances limited next season – made 29 appearances in all competitions for the French champions last season.

The Brazilian is a Barcelona target, who are looking to strengthen their defence following the departure of veteran captain Carles Puyol – and catalan newspaper Sport recently claimed that the agreement between the Marquinhos and Barca was almost complete, with the only thing missing an answer from PSG.

Blanc has made it clear that the Parisian club have no intention of letting him leave PSG and has ruled out a possibility of the centre-back joining the Catalan giants: "Marquinhos will stay - that is for sure," the Frenchman told Radio Monte Carlo in a report carried by Fifa official website. "What interests me is to keep the same number. Certainly there will be departures."

When Marquinhos was asked about Barca's interest, the star said in an interview with French television programme Telefoot: "My future will be decided by PSG, because I am under contract here.

"I am staying so far. There is nothing official. For now I am a PSG player."

There has been speculation Barcelona would be willing to offer right-back Dani Alves as part of a deal to sign Marquinhos - plus an amount of money. And Alves admitted he was aware of the rumours and did not hide his desire to play for the French side, alongside his ex-team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He said: "If I am not staying in Barcelona, ​​PSG is a real option to me."

Blanc also heaped praise on him: "Dani Alves is one of the top players at his position. There is already David Luiz, who is a very good recruit. We will certainly take one or two more players."