Despite being one of West Ham's top scorers this season, Paqueta made it clear he was pining for a Flamengo move for some time. The Brazil international, who netted four Premier League goals this term for the relegation-threatened Hammers, spoke about returning to his boyhood club a few months ago, and now it seems he may have manifested the move to the Rio de Janeiro outfit.
Months after being cleared of spot-fixing charges, Paqueta said in November: "The first moment (Flamengo tried to sign Paqueta) was when (Marcos) Braz was still at Flamengo (as vice president), 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, made the offer, and asked what I thought. Obviously, I always want to go back to Flamengo, but at that moment, I was still a bit undecided about my decision, about what I was going to do. 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. So I said: 'I want you to resolve this.' But yes, this exchange with Flamengo did happen."