Lucas Paquetá

Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima (born 27 August 1997), better known as Lucas Paquetá, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays either as an attacking midfielder or winger for club West Ham United and the Brazil national team.

Paquetá began his career in 2007 with Flamengo, where he won the 2016 Copa São Paulo de Júniores title. After being promoted to the senior team in 2016, he moved to Europe in 2019 to join Italian giants AC Milan, where he played for two seasons. He then joined French club Lyon, and in 2022 signed for English side West Ham United, winning the UEFA Europa Conference League in his debut season.

Paquetá represented Brazil at the Copa América in 2019, 2021 and 2024, winning the 2019 tournament, and was also a part of their squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early career
Lucas Paquetá arrived at Flamengo in 2007 at the age of 10. By 15, he was very technically skilled but did not have the physicality of other players his age (he was only 5 ft tall). By 18, however, he had grown 27 cm (10.6 inches). With the Flamengo youth team he won the 2016 Copa São Paulo de Júniores title, the most important youth tournament in Brazil. Alongside other standout players Léo Duarte, Felipe Vizeu, and Ronaldo, Lucas was promoted to the club's professional team right after the competition.

Flamengo
In March 2016 Paquetá got promoted to Flamengo's professional team and signed a contract extension until 2020. On 5 March 2016, Lucas debuted as a starter in a 3–1 win over Bangu in a 2016 Rio de Janeiro State League match. Paquetá scored his first professional goal on 19 February 2017 in a 4–0 victory against Madureira at the Estádio Raulino de Oliveira in Volta Redonda.

Paquetá scored in both the 2017 Copa do Brasil final in a 1–1 draw against Cruzeiro at the Maracanã Stadium and in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana final against Independiente, also a 1–1 draw in the Maracanã. In both matches, Flamengo were defeated and were runners-up to their opponents in the competitions. In the Copa Sudamericana final, he was named the best Flamengo player in the match. He finished 2017 considered by fans to be, alongside Juan, the highlight of Flamengo.

In the 2018 Campeonato Carioca, Lucas Paquetá was chosen as the best left-winger of the tournament and was the only Flamengo player selected for the team of the tournament.

AC Milan
On 10 October 2018, news agencies across Brazil and Italy reported that a €35M deal had been made between AC Milan and Flamengo for the transfer of player, beating stiff competition from French club Paris Saint-Germain.

On 4 January 2019, the transfer was made official, with Milan announcing the player had signed a five-year contract. He chose to wear the shirt number 39. Because of his mother's Portuguese descent, he was eligible for registration as a European player.

Paquetá made his club debut on 12 January 2019, playing 85 minutes before being replaced by Fabio Borini as Milan beat Sampdoria 2–0 in extra time in the Coppa Italia. Four days later, Paquetá played in the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana, held at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Juventus beat Milan 1–0. On 21 January 2019, Paquetá made his Serie A debut in a 2–0 win over Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Paquetá scored his first goal for Milan in 3–0 win against Cagliari, scoring the second goal. He dedicated his goal for the victims of a fire at his old club Flamengo, all members of the under-15 team.

Lyon
On 30 September 2020, French club Lyon announced the signing of Paquetá, who signed for €20 million on a five-year contract.

In the 2021–22 season, the midfielder was elected the best foreign player of Ligue 1. The election was carried out by popular vote and was supported by more than 20,000 people. Paquetá, 25 years old, competed with the defender of PSG Marquinhos, the Ivorian midfielder of Lens Seko Fofana and the Canadian leader of Lille Jonathan David.

West Ham United
On 29 August 2022, West Ham United announced the signing of Paquetá for a club record fee undisclosed by the club. He signed a five-year contract for a fee estimated by the BBC to be more than £50m with additional add-ons, beating the fee paid for Sebastien Haller in 2019. He made his West Ham and Premier League debut on 31 August in a 1–1 home draw against Tottenham Hotspur. On 4 January 2023, Paquetá scored his first Premier League goal and West Ham goal against Leeds United at Elland Road in a 2–2 draw. On 7 June 2023, Paquetá assisted Jarrod Bowen's 90th minute winner in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final in a 2–1 win against Fiorentina in Prague. A day later, Paquetá was named in UEFA's team of the season for the tournament.

Under-20


On 1 April 2016, Paquetá was called up for the first time to represent Brazil U20 in two friendly matches in Europe. He scored his first goal in his debut in a 2–1 win against England U20 on 4 September.

In October 2016, he was called up for the Quadrangular de Seleções tournament, a friendly round-robin against the U20 squads of Ecuador, Uruguay, and Chile.

Under-23
When he was 18, Paquetá was called to practice with the Brazil U23 team in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Coach Rogério Micale called some younger players born in 1997 and 1998, including Lucas, to participate in group training in hopes of them eventually competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

He received his first official call-up to the under-23 team in March 2020.

Senior team
In 2018, he was selected to be one of the twelve alternatives for the Brazil national team by coach Tite for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Of the 35 players on the 23-man roster and provisional roster, Lucas was the youngest.

On 17 August 2018, Paquetá was called for the first time for the Brazil national team by manager Tite to play in friendly matches against United States and El Salvador in September. On 7 September, he made his debut with the national team, coming off the bench to replace Philippe Coutinho in the 71st minute during a friendly match against the United States. On 23 March 2019, he scored his first goal in a 1–1 friendly draw against Panama, wearing Brazil's iconic No. 10 shirt. In May 2019, he was included in Brazil's 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América.

On 2 July 2021, in the 2021 Copa América quarter-final clash against Chile, he came on as a substitute at half-time and scored in the 47th minute to give Brazil a 1–0 win. On 6 July 2021, he once again scored the only goal after an assist from Neymar in the semi-final against Peru.

On 7 November 2022, Paquetá was named in the squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In August 2023, he was omitted from the squad for Brazil's 2026 World Cup qualifying games against Bolivia and Peru to be played in September, after it was reported that he was under investigation by both the FA and FIFA for breaches of betting rules. Having been omitted from the squad for three international call-ups and missing six of Brazil’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers, three of which they lost, Paquetá was recalled to the squad in March 2024 for upcoming friendlies against England and Spain.

Personal life
Lucas has an older brother, Matheus, who also plays football. His nickname, Paquetá, refers to Paquetá Island and the eponymous neighborhood he grew up in; he is a big fan of funk carioca and sometimes imitates funk dance steps during his goal celebrations.

On 18 August 2023, an investigation into potential betting breaches by Paquetá was started. Following this, on 23 May 2024, he was charged with misconduct for alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3. He faced four breaches of FA Rule E5.1 for his conduct during Premier League fixtures against Leicester City on 12 November 2022, Aston Villa on 12 March 2023, Leeds United on 21 May 2023, and Bournemouth on 12 August 2023, where it was alleged that he intentionally sought to receive a card from the referee to influence the betting market for personal profit. Additionally, Paquetá was charged with two breaches of FA Rule F3 related to failures to comply with FA Rule F2. Paquetá denied the charges and said he was "extremely surprised and upset" to be charged.

International

 * Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Paquetá goal.

Honours
Flamengo
 * Campeonato Carioca: 2017
 * Taça Guanabara: 2018; runner-up: 2017
 * Copa do Brasil runner-up: 2017

West Ham United
 * UEFA Europa Conference League: 2022–23

Brazil
 * Copa América: 2019; runner-up: 2021

Individual
 * Bola de Prata: 2018
 * Best Attacking Midfielder in Brazil: 2018
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2018
 * Campeonato Carioca Team of the Year: 2018
 * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2020–21
 * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: October 2021
 * UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2022–23