Hard to believe that two years on from the start of the FA investigation against Lucas Paquetá there is still no resolution to his predicament. The FA have now conducted their enquiry, held their hearing and refuse to publish their results. ‘Some time this summer’ seems the best guess.
West Ham cannot sell him, Paquetá cannot action a move – for the club and the player, business is on hold.
It would seem now that any chance of the Brazilian resurrecting his dream move to Manchester City from 2023 is disappearing fast. The £80 million-plus which the Hammers would have banked has also gone up in smoke thanks to the FA’s ham fisted handling of the whole process.
A report today which might have passed West Ham fans by is telling: Manchester City also now appear to be fed up with waiting on any chance of signing Lucas Paquetá and have instead gone and agreed a deal to buy the player once earmarked by West Ham as Paqueta’s successor.
Rayan Cherki is the likely next Manchester City midfield recruit, according to getfootballnewsfrance.com.
Just 12 months ago, Cherki was a Hammers target being lined up to replace Paqueta in the event of a ban. As Claret and Hugh wrote in 2024:
“West Ham’s interest in Cherki is fueled by speculation surrounding Lucas Paqueta‘s future with the club. Paqueta faces potential spot-fixing charges, raising questions about his long-term presence at West Ham.
Cherki has garnered praise from pundits like Frank Leboeuf, who described him as “unbelievable” and “one of the best players on Earth.” His talent and potential for future growth make him an attractive target.”
Clearly City share that opinion and rather than wait any longer for the Brazilian, have agreed a deal for the twenty one year old from Lyon.
Which must come as another kick in the nuts to Paquetá who is powerless to prevent his dream move from going west as City plan for a future with Rayan Cherki, instead of the Brazilian, pulling the strings in midfield.
Lucas Paqueta denies all of the allegations made against him
Totally agree with all comments above. The FA r a joke. Tbf Sullivan likes a court case but this time it would be justified. Don’t get while the decision is still awaited. The FA must be doing some big arse covering. We await their conclusion which will be a farse going by their previous record
What is the fa up to the whole incident has been delt with yet they still refuse to let anyone know the outcome is that because they have messed up big time and are now worried about the repercussions for making false allegations and the distress they have caused both player and club one thing is certain that if he was found guilty they would have been on his case as soon as they knew the outcome there whole handling of this situation is a absolute joke they are playing with his career and causing the club untold problems as decisions need to be made
That’s what happens when idiots try to run a £billion business that affects untold millions of supporters!! Absolute disgrace!! The issue with this case is the awful way the FA has handled it. As for the low threshold of proof it absolutely stinks. Why allow betting companies to sponsor sport if they have an issue with gambling? I’ve been a west ham supporter since my dad took me to my first game in1954. I have West Ham Central on my birth certificate!!
If they had the evidence I imagine he would have been banned, if they don’t have the evidence I can’t see why they would be delaying announcing it.
Hopefully they exonerate him soon and he can get on with his career, he is still on his day our most gifted player.
The only realistic reason to delay a verdict until near the end of the transfer window is to damage Westham . Although Paqueta is suffering mental anguish , he still gets paid 150K a week which is a lot for Westham to pay ( 15 million wasted over 2 years ) . In addition , Westham will either not be able to sell him or have to sell for cheap when it’s too late to sign a quality replacement or quality targets already signed by others . An in depth look at the accounts and life styles of corrupt members of the FA will reveal the truth . There’s a very obvious motive to prevent Westham becoming a big club . The 7 pounds bets allegedly made to defraud Betway are laughably small and I’d guarantee that other bets were made from Paqueta Island related to yellow cards that didn’t get paid as a result of no yellow card being branded . Big business in and out of sports almost always cheats as we all know . Proving it is the tricky bit .
Sue the clowns that are the FA. Us and the Pac man deserve compensation
I can only think the reason for the FA taking so long, is that they are in frantic consultation with lawyers as to how to cover their arses….they can see a law suit coming whichever verdict they give…⚒⚒⚒⚒
FIFA will extend any ban by the FA to all associations; that’s only sensible to prevent cheats moving about to dodge bans. We can sell him – no embargo – but who would want to pay a decent price for a player who could be banned worldwide at any moment? A fit and firing Pac-man would be a real asset to WHU, but clearly his performances have be impacted by the case, lowering his value.
Our biggest problem is two-fold; firstly, the tribunal is judge, jury and executioner, and secondly, the level of proof has been set low as it’s the civil determination of ‘balance of probabilities’.
The FA are now in a bind, because if there was a clear cut, compelling case, they would have announced it quickly. But the very fact they haven’t means there’s doubt. By taking so long, they have now left themselves open to legal compensation against the player’s potential transfer, his market value and personal reputation.
We hear that they’ve reached a conclusion but are deliberately delaying announcing it. Why? We’re in a close season which is surely the best time as WHU can plan knowing if Paqueta has a future or not. If he’s banned for life, can the club sue the player for the portion of his contract value they cant sell on?
It will be interesting to see the final verdict and it – and the interminable delay – is explained; I can see both West Ham and Paqueta lodging cases against the FA in both the High Court and CAS.
This episode has been so poorly handled that it now has the potential to cause serious damage to the FA’s finances and even disrupt the game at EPL level.
If he’s found innocent both Paqueta and West Ham should sue the gonads off of the pathetic FA. If they have a decision then put it out there
I feel that the FA should be held accountable for their lack of action.As the report says,they have comp[leted their investigation and held meetings to discuss the outcome,so what is now holding up the proceedings?
A man’s livelihood is at stake here as well as his ambitions,not to mention his club is in a no win situation also.Can they sell him or not?
At the end of the day the FA should be taken to court to find out what on earth have they been doing for the last 2 years.
Why exactly can’t we sell ?? I’m sure there is some legal excuse on why but just can’t work it out. The inquest is against Paqueta himself, not the club. We were told he is clear to play so why not clear to sell. What would happen if his contract run out and he wouldn’t sign another one ? And how can the English F.A ban him from worldwide football, surely they can only ban him in England. They don’t govern world football. Would that not be down to FIFA ?? Not trying to be funny or anything, just genuinely am confused regarding the situation !
I am pretty sure that the reason we can’t sell Paqueta is because no club would want to buy him until he is cleared of the charges. I do not think the FA has stopped us selling him, per se.
The FA are a joke , I don’t think there’s enough evidence to find him guilty and robbing us by not being able to sell until it’s over. Can’t we sue the FA when hes found not guilty.