This is not the start Lucas Paqueta was hoping for when he finally secured a move away from West Ham United and returned to Rio with his beloved Flamengo.
If Paqueta’s London Stadium legacy remains a source of real debate, then only the most glass-half-full members of the Flamengo fanbase would be able to convince themselves that his first few appearances back in Brazil have gone to plan.
Paqueta missed a sitter as Flamengo lost 2-0 to Corinthians in the Brazilian Super Cup. As debuts go, this was not quite Jonathan Woodgate at Real Madrid levels, but it wasn’t too far off. And, in a moment that will be very familiar to the West Ham United faithful, Lucas Paqueta cost his team dear when conceding possession with a cheap pass in a 1-1 draw with Internacional. Flamengo’s opponents would fly down the other end and find the net.
Serious question – are you taking a peak Mateus Fernandes or a peak Lucas Paqueta in your dream midfield?!
A graphic showing Mateus Fernandes being voted Man of the Match by West Ham fans vs Burnley.
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Filipe Luis, the former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid left-back who led Flamengo to a league and Copa Libertadores double last season, sunk to his knees in despair and pounded the turf after that Paqueta sitter in the Super Cup.
Now, speaking to ESPN as his marquee signing awaits his first goal and his first assist in the red and black, Luis admits that Paqueta has been ‘suffering more than I expected’ in his first few weeks back home.
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Flamengo coach Filipe Luis explains Lucas Paqueta’s struggles after West Ham United exit
Paqueta started for the third time when Flamengo beat Vitoria 2-1 on Tuesday night.
He was tasked by Luis to press high up the pitch and defend from the front, though these best laid plans pretty quickly went awry.
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“To be clear, when we decided to bring Paqueta in, we always envisioned him playing in midfield,” says Luis. “We didn’t need a defensive midfielder, and we envisioned him as an attacking midfielder.
Lucas Paqueta before West Ham play against Brighton in the Premier League.
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
“He’s playing on the right wing, a position he played at West Ham. The only difference is that sometimes he’ll need to defend like a winger.”
Well, not quite. Paqueta barely ever played on the right-hand side with the Hammers. That role, of course, is the preserve of Jarrod Bowen.
“[Against Vitoria], I tried to set up the game for him to press high up the pitch, but we couldn’t really apply our pressure because we lost possession,” Luis adds. “And he ended up suffering more than I expected, touching the ball less than I wanted.
“He’s constantly improving, he’ll loosen up, he’s a player with tremendous quality and I’m sure he’ll get back to his level.
“He doesn’t play as a winger, he plays as an attacking midfielder. He tackles like a winger. He plays as an attacking midfielder with me, as if it were the same position he played at West Ham. He came to play as an attacking midfielder.”
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West Ham United's Portuguese head coach Nuno Espírito Santo reacts during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Manchester United at the London Stadium in east London on February 10, 2026.
Flamengo are yet to get Paqueta in his best position
The former Lyon and AC Milan playmaker has a point to prove, certainly. If he felt he was in for an easier ride back home, then the expectation surrounding his arrival and the fees involved – he is the biggest signing in Brazilian Serie A history – have put pay to that.
Former Brazil international Neto slammed Paqueta as ‘third-rate’ when he was still wiping the tears away in a Rio airport, questioning whether the best team in South America really needed him in the first place.
“I’ve seen people saying that Paqueta can’t play on the wing,” reporter Mauro Cezar said on Jovem Pan Radio in response to the debate surrounding his most-effective position.
“But he played in that position at West Ham. Sometimes centrally, but his best moments were on the wing. Now, he’s leaving a team that was inferior to the others in the league. Now, he’s at a club that aims to have possession, press high, and dominate.
“It’s obvious that he needs to readjust.
“[His poor start] is because of what Lucas Paqueta was doing in England, and because Flamengo is going through a bad patch at the start of the season. It would have been one thing for him last year, when the team was doing well, to fit in. It’s another thing now, to be part of a team that’s trying to get back to its best form.
“But people think everything happens very quickly. It’s a football team, the gears need to fit together, and that can take time.”
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