AC Milan paid a fee much higher than reported by the press to secure midfielder Lucas Paqueta from Flamengo, it is claimed.
Paqueta joined the Rossoneri in January 2019 and at the time it was widely reported that Milan paid a fee of €35million to the Brazilian side to sign the playmaker.
After a good start to life at San Siro, the 22-year-old now seemingly has an uncertain future with the Rossoneri as he has fallen down the pecking order at the club, and in the past few days there have been reports of interest from Benfica.
According to the Brazilian press – as cited by Calciomercato.com – between the fixed amount, commissions and bonuses, Milan will end up paying a sum of around €45million for what they call the ‘sporting rights’ for Paqueta.
In addition, the 22-year-old signed on a deal until 2023 (therefore four-and-a-half years) on a salary reported to be €1.7m-a-year, meaning an extra €7.6m can be added on top of the €45m to make the total investment around €52.6m.
