When Paqueta was 12, his mum decided to move them to Rio so her son’s commute to training would be easier. So because of that, I think we really appreciate the nature on the island more than perhaps we would otherwise.” People get around either by walking or by bike. “That’s how things started out on the island. “We’d have to leave on the boat and then we’d have to take three buses to get to the training ground, return home at the end of the day and start all over the next day,” Paqueta told West Ham’s in-house media. Paqueta has a tattoo on his forearm of a star and the letter “M” in recognition of his now-deceased grandpa’s contribution to making him the player and person he is today. Cristiane landed him trials at Flamengo and she and Mirao would take him to training. He lived on the island with his mother Cristiane, cousins, his brother Matheus, and grandfather Mirao until he was 12. The 25-year-old grew up on Paqueta Island, which sits in Guanabara Bay, opposite Rio de Janeiro - it is so small it’s car-free and has a population of around 3,000. But Paqueta’s ascent to becoming a key player for manager David Moyes hasn’t been easy. The east London side paid €43m up front, with the remainder related to bonuses. It has been 10 months since Paqueta joined West Ham from Lyon of France’s Ligue 1 in a deal worth €60million (£51.7m/$64.3m at today’s exchange rates). Of his special bond with Paris Saint-Germain forward and Brazil team-mate Neymar and why one West Ham colleague believes “he’s playing football like he’s dancing on the Copacabana”. How his mother, Cristiane, and grandfather, Mirao, have been positive influences on his football career. Of why the turning point in his career happened when he was 17. It’s a tale of how a player who will be crucial to their chances of winning silverware in this week’s Europa Conference League final was always the smallest among his peers. This is the story of Paqueta’s journey to becoming West Ham United’s club record signing. I knew we had to wait for him, because he had so much talent.” We had a few hurdles along the way: certain coaches didn’t want him, thought the club should let him go because he was so small.
“There were two or three moments when we really had to be strong and hold onto him so he didn’t leave. “He was nearly a lost jewel,” Noval says. Ricardo and Carlos Noval, then executive director of Flamengo’s academy, were aware of Paqueta’s potential and the duo played an important role in convincing him to stay with the Rio de Janeiro club. Paqueta’s rise to the first team gave the whole youth department a feeling of real satisfaction.”
In the end, his transformation was visible to everyone. “We just had to make sure that he didn’t grow frustrated.
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