Lucas Paqueta potential transfer to Manchester City might not become a reality, as the midfielder is being probed for an alleged breach of betting guidelines.
Paqueta is being investigated for bets placed in his country, Brazil, with the betting patterns being the reason for the scrutiny.
Has Lucas Paqueta transfer to Manchester City broken down?
Lucas Paqueta was on the verge of joining Manchester City after a bid of £70 million was tabled.
Unfortunately, on Friday, August 18, 2023, the deal broke down as a result of what has been termed “confidential” reasons.
Manchester City will not take a backseat, waiting for where the investigation would lead to.
Certain pieces of information aren’t known yet, but as earlier revealed, it is believed that the probe is regarding bets made in Brazil but not by Lucas Paqueta.
It has been claimed that no bets are being displayed on Paqueta’s personal bank statements.
The Brazil international can face Chelsea on Saturday, August 19, 2023, if manager David Moyes decides to select him.
Lucas Paqueta made 43 appearances for West Ham United last season, helping the club win the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 25-year-old joined the Hammers from Olympique Lyon on August 29, 2022, for a transfer fee of €42.9 million and he has been impressive at the London Stadium.
West Ham have embedded an £85 million release clause in his current deal which becomes active in the summer of 2024.
Meanwhile, the manager of Brazil’s national men’s football team, Fernando Diniz has opted to remove Lucas Paqueta from his squad for the upcoming international matches.
The former AC Milan midfielder was initially in the 23-man squad for Brazil before he was withdrawn due to the ongoing investigation of alleged betting breaches.
Brazil manager Diniz claims that the decision was made to make the player more comfortable in resolving the issue.
He also expressed that the door is always open to welcome him back to the squad when the matter has reached a positive resolution.
Fernando Diniz’s statement on Lucas Paqueta’s future
Diniz said: “He’s a player I like a lot. It’s a question of preservation, letting him resolve these issues, which go beyond the game.
“Make him more comfortable to resolve. We had these problems here in Brazil.”
He added: “The CBF will have its doors open to receive him as soon as he positively resolves these issues we had at the last minute.”
Lucas Paqueta has made 42 appearances for Brazil, scoring 9 goals and providing 4 assists across all competitions.
Footballers aren’t given any room whatsoever to bet on matches they are involved in and as such, anyone that is found guilty would be punished severely.
English forward Ivan Toney is currently going through an eight-month ban, after acknowledging 232 breaches of betting rules.
In 2019, Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier, was slammed with a ten-week ban for giving insight to a friend concerning his move to Atletico Madrid.
Trippier reportedly told his friend to “lump on” his transfer move from Tottenham Hotspur to Diego Simeone’s side.
