One of the top football journalists in the country has made a shocking new claim about Lucas Paqueta that will cause grave concern at West Ham.
The ridiculously gifted Lucas Paqueta should be West Ham’s main problem solver.
Instead he has become the club’s single biggest problem.
Paqueta has been nowhere near his brilliant best at West Ham since the turn of the year.
Most Hammers fans had even made peace with the fact Paqueta was set to leave them for Man City.
It had been on the cards since last year when a move triggering his £85m release clause collapsed due to the FA and FIFA opening an investigation into the West Ham playmaker.
There was speculation the case was going to be concluded in Paqueta’s favour ahead of the summer.
So West Ham were had banked on having that £85m to spend from his expected sale at the second attempt.
Shocking new Paqueta claim emerges from top journalist
Any chance of a move to Man City – and an £85m pay day for West Ham – was scuppered again when Paqueta was officially charged by the FA over alleged involvement in illegal betting.
In a statement back in May an FA spokesman confirmed Paqueta has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA Rules E5 and F3.
A leading sports lawyer has confirmed the charges Paqueta faces are a ‘different magnitude’ to what we have seen previously in football with the likes of Ivan Toney and Sandro Tonali.
And any punishment handed down will reflect that with 10-year bans and even prison terms if referred to the police being possibilities.
An independent three-person tribunal will now decide Paqueta’s fate.
As West Ham and the midfielder await his fate, Martyn Ziegler of The Times has provided a worrying update.
Paqueta update will cause grave concern at West Ham
And the new Paqueta claim that has emerged will cause grave concern at West Ham.
According to Ziegler, Paqueta’s relatives sent money to another Brazilian player accused of spot-fixing, Luiz Henrique.
Although they claim the transfer of funds was to pay off a loan.
“Relatives of West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta sent bank payments to another Brazilian player who has been caught up in allegations of spot-fixing, according to reports in his homeland,” Ziegler states.
“Paqueta has been charged by the FA with four separate instances of spot-fixing. It is alleged that he deliberately got himself booked in four Premier League matches in one of the most serious cases ever involving a top-flight player in England.
“The Brazilian news website UOL has reported that Luiz Henrique, a Brazilian striker who has been caught up in the scandal while playing in Spain for Real Betis, received a total of more than £5,000 from Paqueta’s uncle and cousin — Bruno Tolentino, and his son, Yan — in early 2023.
“Tolentino confirmed to UOL that the payments were made but said they were to pay off a loan and not connected to sports betting.
“Henrique, who now plays in Brazil for Botafogo, received the money shortly after twice being booked while playing for Betis in La Liga. The club has said Henrique denies the accusations and the Spanish FA is not investigating.”
If Paqueta is eventually found guilty then West Ham would have grounds to tear up the Brazilian’s contract as soon as the verdict is handed down.
Paqueta is West Ham’s highest earning player ever on £150k per week.
Depending on how long the process takes to conclude, that would save the Hammers anything between £15-21m in wages.
The verdict is not expected until the middle of next year at the earliest.
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