Lucas Paqueta transfer news: Flamengo complete £36.5m deal to re-sign Brazil midfielder from West Ham

Flamengo have signed Lucas Paqueta in a £36.5m transfer from West Ham.

Paqueta has signed a contract until December 2030 with his boyhood club. Flamengo announced the transfer a few hours before West Ham released a brief statement thanking the midfielder.

The Premier League club said they reluctantly accepted his transfer request when confirming he had been given permission to undergo a medical.

Paqueta had told West Ham he wanted to return home to Brazil for personal and family reasons after being cleared of spot-fixing charges that threatened to end his career.

Paqueta has since said that he turned down offers from Europe because he wanted to be in Brazil for his "mental health" and to "regain peace".

The 28-year-old, who joined West Ham in 2022 from Lyon for a club record fee of around £51m, is back in Rio de Janeiro, where he began his career.

Paqueta's departure brings his spell in east London to an end, where he contributed with 23 goals and 15 assists across 139 appearances.

The Brazil international was a part of the West Ham side that ended the club's 40-year-wait for silverware, as he set up Jarrod Bowen's famous winner in the Conference League final win over Fiorentina in 2023.