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 Premier League club West Ham United and the Brazil national team.

He began his career in 2007 for CR Flamengo where he won the 2016 Copa São Paulo de Júniores title.

He has also played for Flamengo, AC Milan and Lyon.

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.

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.

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.

When he was 18, Paquetá was called to practice with the Brazil U23 team in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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.

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.

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.

For the Brazil national team, he has played for them in the Copa América - which he won once in 2019 - and in one World Cup.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On 29 August 2022, West Ham United announced the signing of Paquetá for a club record fee undisclosed by the club.