Former AC Milan defender Cafu has stated that the management made a mistake in letting Lucas Paqueta leave for Lyon rather than giving him more of a chance to prove himself.
Cafu spoke in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that was published this morning and he discussed a number of different topics from the year that his old clubs Milan and Roma have had to his plans to speak with Paolo Maldini. PianetaMilan relayed his comments.
On 2022 for the Giallorossi and Rossoneri: “Only the World Cup in Brazil is missing and then it will have been the perfect year. I’m really happy for my clubs. I miss Italy, in January I will go to Milan to congratulate Paolo Maldini and then I will also go to Rome.”
Cafu spoke about Paqueta who was signed by Milan for a fee of over €30m from Flamengo in the winter window during the 2018-19 season and high expectations came with his price tag. However, the midfielder was never able to make a huge impact after a promising start.
The Rossoneri eventually sold him to Lyon for €20m in 2020 and it was in Ligue 1 that the Brazilian found his groove, impressing so much that West Ham decided to sign him for €60m over the summer (via The Guardian).
“He was too young and Milan gave him too many responsibilities. He needed time. Now he has more personality and he knows how to stay on the pitch,” he said.
Finally, Cafu commented on what modern football is like in his eyes: “I like the World Cup that all the national teams give their all for their goal. And football is not an exact science, as Saudi Arabia and Japan have shown. But football was better when I was playing. Now we go too far back, a lot of possession and few shots. There is fear of playing. The players had a better technique.”
