1. He grew up on a tiny island
Lucas Paquetá was born Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima on 27 August 1997 and grew up on Paquetá Island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paquetá Island is a tiny car-free island of just 0.46 square miles which was originally home to the indigenous Tupi people before being ‘discovered’ by France in 1555. The Portuguese expelled the French 12 years later. Modern-day Paquetá Island is a car-free idyll with a population of around 3,000.
2. He was a teenage star at Flamengo
Lucas Paquetá joined Flamengo, one of the State of Rio and Brazil’s biggest and most successful clubs, at the age of eight. Seven-times Brazilian Serie A winners, 37-times Rio State League champions and two-times Copa Libertadores winners, Flamengo are based in Rio de Janeiro’s Gávea neighbourhood. Paquetá won a host of junior titles, was promoted to the first-team squad and won the Rio State League at 18, made his debut in Brazil’s Serie A and scored in the Brazilian Cup final at 19 and won the Bola de Prato awarded to Serie A’s top player at 20. Among his teammates was winger Vinícius Júnior, who joined Real Madrid in 2018.
3. He moved to Europe at the age of 21
Lucas Paquetá was signed by AC Milan in January 2019. He made his first start for the club in the Italian Super Cup against Juventus in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia later the same month. After scoring his first Serie A goal for Milan against Cagliari that February, he dedicated the strike to ten teenage footballers at his former club Flamengo who lost their lives in a horrific fire at the club’s Academy. Paquetá went on to play 44 times for Milan in all competitions.
4. He won the Copa América in his home city
Lucas Paquetá made his senior Brazil debut as a substitute in a 2-0 friendly win over the United States in New Jersey in September 2018, then scored on his first start in a 1-1 draw with Panama in the Portuguese city of Porto in March 2019. In July of the same year, he appeared once as a substitute – in a quarter-final victory over Paraguay – as Brazil won the Copa América at the Maracanã Stadium in his home city of Rio.
5. He was sensational in France
Lucas Paquetá moved to Olympique Lyonnais in September 2020, and quickly established himself as a standout performer in Ligue 1, being named in the 2020/21 Team of the Year at the end of his first season in France. He missed just six Ligue 1 matches in two full seasons in Lyon and also scored against Sparta Prague and Porto as Les Gones reached the knockout stages of last season’s UEFA Europa League, where they lost to West Ham United in the quarter-finals.
6. He starred at the 2021 Copa América
After playing a minor role as Brazil won the Copa América in 2019, Lucas Paquetá was a central figure as the Seleção reached the final of the 2021 tournament, which was again held in his home country due to the COVID pandemic. The 23-year-old scored the winning goals in the quarter-final win over Chile and semi-final victory over Peru, then started the final against Argentina in Rio, but Brazil’s biggest rivals edged Paquetá and his teammates out 1-0.
7. He’s a regular starter for Brazil
Just two players played more minutes in Brazil’s successful 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign than Lucas Paquetá’s 959 – Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos and Juventus right-back Danilo. Paquetá scored three goals, in wins over Paraguay, Colombia and Bolivia, as Brazil dropped just six points in 17 matches to top the South American COMNEBOL qualifying table and reach their record 22nd consecutive World Cup.
8. He becomes West Ham United’s fourth Brazilian
When he makes his debut, Lucas Paquetá will become just the fourth Brazilian to play first-team football for West Ham United. The 25-year-old was preceded by forwards Ilan and Nenê, who each made a handful of appearances in 2010 and 2015 respectively, and winger Felipe Anderson, who became the Club’s record signing when he arrived from Lazio in July 2018. The winger enjoyed a fine 2018/19 season, scoring ten goals, and managed 12 in 73 appearances in total before returning to the Italian Serie A club in July 2021. Another Brazilian, centre-forward Wellington Paulista, spent six months with West Ham in early 2013 but never made a senior appearance.
