Not everybody is welcoming Lucas Paqueta back to Brazil with open arms, West Ham United’s wantaway playmaker arriving in Rio as he prepares to re-join boyhood club Flamengo.
For such a fee, pressure and expectations will be high.
Lucas Paqueta is used to that, of course. He has spent the last three-and-a-half years representing a West Ham United side never too far away from a crisis, while Brazil’s number ten shirt is one that weighs extremely heavily on the shoulders.
How will you remember Lucas Paqueta? 🤔
West Ham finally green-lit Paqueta’s departure on Wednesday. 24 hours later, he arrived back home in Rio to a hero’s welcome. Seldom has an incoming transfer caused such a stir in a league where the very best talent is usually heading in the other direction.
Flamengo have broken their transfer record, and that of the Brazilian Serie A in the process. At somewhere between £35 and £39 million, Paqueta becomes the most expensive player ever signed by a Brazilian club.
But for Jose Ferreira Neto – one of the more, let’s say, outspoken pundits in South American football – the fee is not only record breaking, but rather baffling.
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Former Brazil ace Neto slams Lucas Paqueta as West Ham United man rejoins Flamengo
Paqueta acknowledged, in conversation with Fla TV, that Flamengo are perhaps not a club who needed to make such a marquee acquisition.
The red and black outfit won the Brazilian title and the Copa Libertadores in 2025. By his own admission, Paqueta maybe needed Flamengo more than Flamengo needed Paqueta.
A stance Neto agrees with, albeit in more critical terms.
“Flamengo signed Paqueta; a third-rate player, a TikTok sensation,” Neto blasted, in quotes reported by Band. “He has 139 games and 23 goals for West Ham – a tiny, insignificant team that nobody knows – in three years.”
A lot to unpack here. A lot to argue with, and that is before you touch on Neto’s callous dismissing of one of English football’s most historic institutions.
One point which does ring true, though, is that Paqueta’s statistics leave a lot to be desired. West Ham’s departing number ten provided one assist in two years of Premier League football. And, in three-and-a-half seasons, he never even got past four goals.
“What did [Flamengo’s bosses] drink? Poison? Are you crazy?,” Neto clattered on, a man who earned 16 Brazil caps from 1988 to 1993 lambasting a man with 61.
“Paqueta is a mediocre player and isn’t worth 42 million euros!”
Paqueta explains why he ‘needed’ to return to Brazil
On the other hand, talk about strengthening from a position of strength.
Champions of both the country and the continent already, Flamengo should be an even more fearsome proposition in 2026.
“Maybe Flamengo didn’t need me, but I needed Flamengo,” an emotional Paqueta says. “My heart is red and black!
“It was a difficult two and a half years, we endured a lot, but I always saw support. After everything was resolved, nothing could take the idea of returning home out of my head.
“It’s an enormous happiness to be back. I dreamed a lot about this moment. All I want now is to enjoy this joy of finally being home, to be happy, to bring joy to the nation and to give my best.”
“I’m very anxious, I can’t lie. I really want to be able to play soon, to be wearing this shirt on the field, to have fun and be happy.”
Nuno Espirito Santo will hope Crysencio Summerville can fill Paqueta void
Summerville does something only three Hammers have done before! ⚽⚽⚽⚽
What do YOU think sparked his goalscoring run?
In his pre-Chelsea press conference on Thursday lunchtime, Nuno confirmed that West Ham are unlikely to replace Lucas Paqueta directly before the transfer window closes. Pablo Felipe will hope to keep his place as the ‘number ten’ at Stamford Bridge, while Mateus Fernandes, Jarrod Bowen or Crysencio Summerville may fancy their chances of picking up the slack.
The latter can join a very exclusive club if he scores in West London. Summerville is one away from becoming only the fourth West Ham player to score in four straight games since Tony Cottee in 1986.
“For me, Lucas is a special player and a special person. I think, in terms of the club, it was not the proper way. I think everything could be different, but the circumstances are what they are,” Nuno said.
“He wanted to go and we keep moving. He’s a special person, a special player, and we wish him all the best.”
“Two years ago, we knew what happened with Lucas [the FA charge and that failed move to Manchester City]. Many, many things happened to come to this end. It could be done two years ago and everything would be different.
“It is what it is and we move forward.”
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