We already knew Lucas Moura would be leaving Tottenham Hotspur after five years at the club, but now it’s official. Tottenham confirmed on social media that Lucas would be departing the club at the end of the current season when his contract expires in June.
Thank you for the memories, @LucasMoura7
We can confirm that Lucas Moura is to leave the Club at the end of the season following the conclusion of his contract.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 18, 2023
The club also posted a farewell video from Lucas to Spurs fans thanking them for supporting him through his tenure.
It’s a real tear-jerker of a video.
Look. I think it’s safe to say that there’s a complicated relationship between Tottenham fans — or at least a significant chunk of Spurs fans — and Lucas. Without getting into the political weeds, Lucas has some personal views on subjects outside of football that are at minimum troubling and at worst abhorrent to some fans, and that has negatively affected how people feel about him. It’s also a fact that Lucas’ influence on the team and impact on the pitch has dropped significantly over the past few years, to the point where he gets yelled at in the comments of this blog more often than he gets thanked for his service. In that sense, it’s past time for him to go, and the fact that he’s leaving on a free transfer is evidence of Tottenham’s failure to sell players.
But Lucas is also directly responsible for what is the single best moment of my 16 year Tottenham Hotspur fandom — his last-gasp goal against Ajax in the semifinals of the Champions League in 2019 that sent Spurs to the final for the first (and only) time in club history. The Miracle of Amsterdam was a moment of pure joy for Spurs fans that is practically unrivaled in the club’s history, and for that reason a lot of fans will consider Lucas to be, if not a Tottenham legend, at minimum a player who will always be remembered for his contributions.
The other thing you can charitably and honestly say about Lucas is that he does love this club. That’s been abundantly clear over the years, from his exuberant goal celebrations, to his COYSCOYSCOYSCOYSCOYS chants, and to the way he interacts with fans and his teammates. You can see it in that video — whatever your personal views are on him, he’s COYS for life and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing him show up at the stadium as a former player and fan long after he’s left and hung up his boots.
I don’t know what the future holds for Lucas. I suspect he has a few more years of football left in him even at age 30. Maybe he returns to Brazil, to Sao Paolo or elsewhere, or to MLS, or to another club in England or on the continent. But I feel confident that we haven’t seen the last of him. And I know he’ll have a chance to say his goodbyes to Tottenham fans in person when Spurs host Brentford on Saturday in the last home match of the season.
