West Ham and Lucas Paqueta are considering suing the FA upon the conclusion of his betting case after his proposed £80million move to Manchester City collapsed in 2023.
The Brazilian had been under investigation from August 2023, and was charged with spot fixing in May 2024 with four separate incidents of allegedly getting booked deliberately “for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market".
The charges related to Premier League games against Leicester City on 12 November 2022, and 2023 fixtures against Aston Villa on 12 March, Leeds United on 21 May and Bournemouth on 12 August.
The FA said that 253 individuals placed bets on Paqueta to receive a booking in those games, with up to 27 being linked to the player. He maintained only five of which he had a relationship with and did not keep up contact with them regularly, even less so regarding football.
West Ham and Lucas Paqueta are considering suing the FA after his proposed £80million move to Manchester City collapsed. | REUTERSAfter the investigation, it was concluded that it was not "illustrative of a spot-fix".
The commission released a 314-page report that condemned the FA’s investigation, criticising its evidence for containing “an obvious flaw, namely the lack of an independent assessment of the data”.
The Brazilian was found not guilty of the charges after a 10-month investigation
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"Rather, in the commission's view, it is in many respects inconsistent with a spot-fix, but consistent with alternative explanations,” the commission explained.
The investigation, which lasted the entirety of the 2023/24 season, cast doubts in the mind of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, who pulled out of a deal to sign the star for £80m. The deal had been proposed for August 2023.
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Pep Guardiola and Manchester City were close to signing the Brazilian before deciding against the move due to the looming allegations
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The Citizens were concerned that the former Lyon man could face an indefinite ban if found guilty, ultimately deciding against the signing.
Due to the lack of evidence for convicting Paqueta which ultimately cost him his mega-move to City, Sky Sports say, both West Ham and the player are considering suing the FA.
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The midfielder, who has already bagged twice for the Hammers already this season, is still facing a fine from the FA for failing to co-operate.
It is alleged he wiped two of his phones during the investigation, with FA chiefs arguing other messages could have indicated he was aware of the betting taking place.
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The former Lyon star has scored twice for West Ham already this season
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Over 300 deleted messages were recovered, though none of which had anything to do with betting or spot-fixing.
“I feel totally devastated for what I have been going through. I have been living a nightmare for two years,” Paqueta said after the not guilty verdict.
Lucas Paqueta's celebration against Nottingham Forest was telling
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“I hope that I will recover my dignity as a man, as well as a football player.”
After West Ham’s dire start to the campaign this year, the midfielder had been linked in a £47m switch to Aston Villa towards the end of the summer transfer window.
However, the Brazilian international put the rumours to bed with a telling celebration during Graham Potter’s side’s 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest, where he seemed to cancel a phone call and kiss the West Ham badge.
Paqueta joined the Hammers from Lyon in 2022 in a £37m deal, and has scored 21 goals in 124 appearances at the London Stadium.