Lucas Paquetá spoke publicly for the first time after the English Football Association accused him of breaking sports betting rules. Paquetá appeared before the media since the retreat of the Brazilian team, with which he is preparing to play the next Copa América, a tournament in which his presence has been questioned due to this case. The footballer assured that his lawyers advised him not to talk about this story and admitted to collaborating with the FA to clarify the matter:
“First of all, I wanted to publicly thank president Ednaldo Rodrigues for the effort he made in investigating everything that happened to me and for allowing me to stay with my teammates. I also thank Dorival and the fans who supported my call-up. This will be the first and only time I will talk about the case. My lawyers advised me not to comment. What I can say is that I will continue to do my best and collaborate. We will clarify everything.”
Paquetá also spoke about his role within the national team and the responsibilities he will have to take on now: “I am very happy for this moment. Six years ago I arrived as a young man eager to learn. Of course I still want to learn, but today I have a much greater responsibility. I played in a World Cup and two Copa Américas. I know how important I am, I will do my best to help the team win. I hope to help the younger players, in order to have a strong and winning group.”
