Lucas Paquetá speaks out for the first time after being cleared 🗣️ | OneFootball

Lucas Paquetá spoke out for the first time after being ACQUITTED by the English Federation. The decision was announced this Thursday (31).

The West Ham midfielder had been accused of allegedly forcing yellow cards to benefit gamblers.

An independent Regulatory Commission, however, stated that "the alleged violations were not proven."

Soon after the announcement, Paquetá released a statement—in Portuguese and in English—on his social media (see the full text below).

"I can’t express how grateful I am to God and how eager I am to get back to playing football with a smile on my face," he wrote.

Check out Paquetá’s statement 📝

"The enemies will come against us by one way but will flee by seven ways."

Since the first day of this investigation, I have maintained my innocence against these very serious accusations.

I can’t say anything more right now, but I also can’t express how grateful I am to God and how eager I am to get back to playing football with a smile on my face.

To my wife who never let go of my hand, to West Ham, to the fans who have always supported me, to Fernando Malta and my legal team at Level (Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Hyman, Dan Lowen), Nick De Marco KC, and Kendrah Potts—thank you for everything.

All glory and all honor be given to God!

A complete work. 🙏❤️

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Julian Finney - 2023 Getty Images