Lucas Paqueta reportedly asked David Moyes not to play the opening game of the 23/24 season in hopes of a move to Manchester City.

It has been reported by The Sun that the Brazilian International asked the then West Ham manager to sit out of the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. The attacking midfielder was reportedly eager to avoid and injury that could have prevented him making an £85 million move to Manchester City.

However, it wasn’t an injury that prevented the move. This fixture against Bournemouth was the one that led to him being charged by the FA for breaching betting rules, which put the midfielders move on hold.

It was reported that made from Paqueta Island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro.

Lucas Paqueta was booked three minutes into stoppage time in the first-half for handball. This added to the three suspicious yellow cards during the 22/23 campaign against Leicester, Aston Villa and Leeds.

While Paqueta didn’t flat out refuse to play the game, it was clear he didn’t want to feature. The report from The Sun indicated that senior figures at West Ham intervened, and he eventually agreed to play against Bournemouth.

The report also suggested that David Moyes would have considered substituting Paqueta earlier to reduce the chance of picking up an injury.

The midfielder was seen looking over at the bench with twenty minutes left to play but it didn’t come. He remained on the pitch for the majority of the match, being replaced by Maxwel Cornet four minutes into additional time.

With a move to Manchester City on the horizon, it makes you wonder why he would continue to risk something that could ruin any chance of a move to Manchester and potentially even end his football career.

Paqueta has until Monday to respond to the charges that he deliberately received these four yellow cards. Since being charged, the midfielder has continued to plead his innocence so it will be interesting to see how it ends.

It isn’t all bad news for Paqueta however, as he has been cleared to play in the Copa America this summer, which begins in just two weeks. The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) have insisted the charges will not stand in the way of him representing the National team.

However, unless proven innocent before the end of the transfer window, which is very unlikely. It seems almost impossible that he will make his dream move to play for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

By Daniel Luker