Lucas Paqueta to rejoin Flamengo in €42m transfer, set as Brazil's priciest signing

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has agreed to return to Flamengo in a deal that will make him the most expensive signing in Brazilian Serie A history, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 28-year-old is due to travel later today and will sign a five-year contract, meaning he has already played his last game for West Ham.

Flamengo will pay a reported record fee of €42 million (£36m) for Paqueta, who returns to his boyhood club after spells with AC Milan, Lyon and West Ham. Paqueta joined West Ham in 2022 and had been eager to return to Brazil, having been left out of recent squads by manager Nuno Espirito Santo amid the transfer uncertainty, the report added.

The Brazilian club plans to pay the fee in instalments so it can retain funds for other transfers, a source close to the transfer told ESPN. Initial proposals reportedly saw £30m up front with a further £5.5m in instalments, but Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista has amended the schedule.

Globo reports Flamengo will spread payments until 2028. The move breaks the previous Brazilian transfer record — Cruzeiro's €27m signing of Gerson from Zenit was the prior high, ahead of Vitor Roque's €25m return to Palmeiras from Barcelona. Paqueta is expected to travel and complete formalities imminently and sign his five-year deal.

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