Lucas Paqueta doesn’t post on social media site X too often but chose to do so with a strange message just before West Ham’s game at Bournemouth.
Lucas Paqueta is West Ham’s record signing and highest paid player on £150k per week – but you wouldn’t know it from most of his performances in 2024.
The man West Ham fans call their Brazilian magnifico has been poor all year bar one or two performances.
The spot-fixing case against him has been hanging over Paqueta’s head for 18 months. And he’s played like it too.
So much so Paqueta lost his place under Julen Lopetegui recently.
When the 27-year-old came on against Wolves, he was so lackadaisical he almost cost his side with some selfish play late on.
Lukasz Fabianski gave the midfielder both barrels, telling him he was ‘stupid’ for all to see on TV.
Bizarre Paqueta post explained before West Ham clash
Paqueta has cost the Hammers a staggering £67.8m since joining with just 15 goals and 14 assists to show for it.
That’s £2.4m per goal contribution.
Over the weekend Paqueta has been heavily linked with a return to Brazil in January once again.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Botafogo and his old side Flamengo are seriously interested.
A loan with obligation deal has been mooted based on the outcome of the hearing against Paqueta in March.
That will either exonerate him or result in a ban – likely for life.
A swap loan could also on the cards with Botafogo as the Hammers are interested in their striker Igor Jesus.
Somehow, Paqueta was back in the starting line-up at Bournemouth.
Timing suspicious amid West Ham exit talk
But just ahead of kick-off, he caused a stir with his social media activity.
The bizarre Paqueta post can be explained but the timing is very suspicious amid the West Ham exit talk.
At 6.17pm – less than two hours before kick-off – Paqueta posted the following message on social media in his native Portuguese.
“I’m not from here,” Paqueta wrote alongside praying hands and a music note.
“I will return home.
“He comes to get me and with him I will go!”
Given the links with a return to Brazil, it’s easy to see how those words might be interpreted.
Especially as Paqueta rarely posts on X – his last of any kind being way back on November 25th.
The words come from a Brazilian gospel song by Jefferson and Suellen titled Come And Get Me.
So the explanation could be that Paqueta entirely innocently posted the words from a song he likes on social media.
Many West Ham fans are far from convinced, though.
They think the timing and wording of the post are far too coincidental.
‘Return home’ on the cards in January?
Hammers fans have been telling him as much too in the comments.
It has to be said it feels like there’s more to this than meets the eye.
For Paqueta to send his first message on the platform for three weeks just after being linked with a return home to Brazil. Come on.
Perhaps this is his way of making it clear to the owners he wants them to agree to a deal should a concrete offer arrive.
We’ll find out the truth either way when January comes.
On the pitch, if Paqueta was listening to the song for pre-match inspiration then it may have helped.
He was a bit better than he has been without doing anything outstanding by any stretch of the imagination.
But in the end it was he who got West Ham’s goal, converting a late spot kick to see his name belted out by the travelling Hammers army.
The post has certainly given scope for this kind of speculation.
He seemed to respond to it in his celebration, though, kissing the West Ham badge repeatedly.
Never a dull moment at West Ham is there.
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