On Thursday, [we covered a report from Brazil](https://sportwitness.co.uk/plan-to-break-bank-for-west-ham-player-verbal-agreement-claimed/) which stated Flamengo plan to break the bank to try and sign West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá this winter.
The club are prepared to pay as much as €30m for the Hammers midfielder. Such an amount would be a huge fee for Brazilian football.
Their 2026 season starts in January, and therefore they’d be using the European winter market to try for the 28-year-old.
Flamengo’s attempt wouldn’t be the first time they’ve tried to sign the West Ham player. During the height of the betting charges drama, Flamengo saw an opportunity.
At that point the belief as any ban may only relate to to England, or even Europe. Flamengo therefore believed they could swoop in.
Paquetá has now revealed that things got serious over the potential transfer. Speaking in a lengthy interview with [Globo Esporte](https://ge.globo.com/futebol/selecao-brasileira/noticia/2025/11/13/paqueta-fala-pela-primeira-vez-apos-absolvicao-relata-negociacoes-com-city-e-fla-e-ve-vitoria-completa.ghtml), the midfielder said: _“Yes. Actually, there were two different moments. The first moment was when (Marcos) Braz was still at Flamengo, there was that contact. I know of Flamengo’s desire, and they know of my desire, my passion for the club, so it’s something that always happens._
_“As soon as I was accused, and the whole trial process was about to begin, Braz came to my house. He made the offer, and asked what I thought. Obviously, I always want to go back to Flamengo. At that moment I was still a bit undecided about my decision, about what I was going to do, and then I also talked to the West Ham director and said: ‘Braz, I want to go back, I know I’ll feel good at Flamengo, but I can’t be ungrateful to the club that’s supporting me so much.’_
_“They supported me a lot at all times, helped me in various situations, so I couldn’t force an exit from a place where I was being welcomed and respected. They respected me, my wife, my family.”_
Multiple attempts for West Ham player
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That didn’t stop Flamengo from trying again. Interestingly, Lucas Paquetá made clear the next attempt came after he was cleared.
_“The second moment, incredibly enough, was when I already knew I could continue playing normally. That’s when I felt even more of a desire to return to Flamengo. Maybe I shouldn’t even be saying this, but I had some conversations with Filipe (Luís), who is a friend, in addition to the work he’s doing at Flamengo. I really expressed my desire to return and also showed it to my agents._
_“It was a difficult decision because I’m 28 years old, it’s very young, and I still have a lot of market value outside of here. I’ve been doing my job well, but it was a very strong desire. And I tried very hard, but unfortunately, once again, I decided to respect my club, not to force anything. It’s a club that supported me, that I have enormous affection for.”_
The West Ham player went on to say the doors are always open for Flamengo. That will give them further encouragement for a fresh effort this winter.