Flamengo Secures Record Transfer for Lucas Paquetá from West Ham

omidbasir- West Ham United and Flamengo have been engaged in negotiations regarding Lucas Paquetá’s transfer for some time, and they have now reached an agreement, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. Flamengo will pay a record fee of €42 million (£36 million) for the 28-year-old midfielder, marking his return to the Brazilian side after stints in Europe with AC Milan, Lyon, and West Ham. Paquetá joined West Ham in 2022 but expressed a desire to return to Brazil and had been omitted from recent match squads by manager Nuno Espírito Santo due to uncertainty surrounding his future.

Flamengo will pay the substantial transfer fee in installments, ensuring the club retains sufficient funds for potential additional transfers. A source close to the transaction informed ESPN, “If it goes as West Ham wants, Flamengo will be taking risks. We’re not going to ruin our plans. The way we want to close the deal protects us even if we have a bad year financially. We want to be sure we can pay. That’s called responsibility.”

Initially, Flamengo was set to pay £30 million upfront, with an additional £5.5 million spread over subsequent payments. However, club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista has revised the payment schedule, and Flamengo will now make payments until 2028, according to Globo.

Paquetá began his career at Flamengo and now returns after an eight-year absence. This transfer not only shatters the previous Brazilian transfer record but also establishes the midfielder as the most expensive signing in the league’s history. The previous record was held by Cruzeiro’s acquisition of Gerson from Zenit St Petersburg for €27 million, ahead of Vitor Roque’s €25 million return to Palmeiras from Barcelona.