West Ham have issued a club statement after accepting a £36.5million bid from Flamengo for Lucas Paqueta.
Standard Sport reported earlier on Wednesday that an offer from the Brazilian side had finally been accepted.
Paqueta is now set to fly to Brazil to finalise a return to his boyhood club.
West Ham have now confirmed that attempts to convince the player to stay failed, so they have “reluctantly agreed to accept his transfer request”.
Paqueta, who has been nursing a back injury, asked to leave due to personal and family reasons, citing the mental toll of a nearly two-year investigation into spot-fixing charges.
In the statement, West Ham said that Paqueta wanted to return to Brazil and make a fresh start after three-and-a-half years at the east London club.
“West Ham United can confirm that Lucas Paquetá has been given permission to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with Brazilian club Flamengo, after a fee was agreed for his permanent transfer,” the statement read.
“Lucas has made it clear that, for personal and family reasons, he wishes to return home to Brazil and make a fresh start after being cleared in July 2025 of FA misconduct charges that took two years to be resolved – a situation that caused him significant mental strain.
“Despite the Club doing everything possible to persuade Lucas to stay, he has remained adamant that his wish is to leave. Therefore, the Head Coach and the Club have reluctantly agreed to accept his transfer request.
“West Ham United would like to take this opportunity to thank our management, players, staff and loyal supporters for the unwavering and devoted support they have shown to Lucas throughout his time at the Club and, in particular, over the past two and a half years.”
