Brazil legend Cafu believes his former club AC Milan made a mistake in letting Lucas Paqueta go to Olympique Lyonnais.
Paqueta joined the French Ligue 1 side in September 2020 after only 20 months with the Italian giants. The Brazilian playmaker returned just one goal and three assists in 44 appearances for the Rossoneri.
That led to a €20million move to Lyon, with Paqueta impressing during his two-year stay in France with 21 goals and 13 assists in 80 appearances in all competitions. His performances for OL convinced West Ham to break their club record transfer fee.
READ MORE: Five positions West Ham could look to strengthen during the January transfer window
The Hammers agreed a £51.2million deal with Lyon (£36.7m up front plus £14.5m in add-ons). Paqueta is yet to find the net for his new club but has provided three assists in 12 games before setting off to Qatar for the World Cup with Brazil.
The Irons midfielder is a regular for the five-time World Cup winners under Tite, missing just five of Brazil’s last 35 matches. Cafu, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, admits that the West Ham midfielder was put under too much pressure during his time with AC Milan.
He told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport:”He was too young and Milan gave him too much responsibility. He would have needed time. Now he has more personality and knows how to stay put on the pitch”
Paqueta played a big role in Brazil’s 2-0 win in their opening Group G game against Serbia and has been named in the starting XI for the clash with Switzerland this Monday afternoon.
READ NEXT:
West Ham’s U18s continue flying start to the season as Divin Mubama stars against Arsenal
West Ham 'willing to sell' Vladimir Coufal with price tag set amid Bayer Leverkusen link
Three options David Moyes has for West Ham’s Arsenal clash after Kurt Zouma’s injury
Chris Sutton makes claim over West Ham’s Declan Rice and Leeds United man after England vs USA
What impact will World Cup injury time rules have on West Ham and their Premier League rivals
