It is not hard to imagine a parallel universe in which Lucas Paqueta spent the last few days celebrating the first league title of his career.The Brazilian was widely tipped to join Manchester City last summer after a breakout 2022-23 season for West Ham United. Instead, he stayed in east London, City seemingly having been spooked by an FA investigation, launched last August, into alleged breaches of betting relegations.That investigation has resulted in charges. Paqueta, 26, stands accused of “intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting”. The charges relate to four Premier League matches: one in 2022 and three in 2023.Paqueta, who was due to play for Brazil at this summer’s Copa America, denies the charges and has until 3 June to formally respond to the FA. But the prospect of a significant ban now hangs heavy over his career.
