Flamengo have broken a transfer record in football in North and South America with the return of midfielder Lucas Paquetá to the club.
After weeks of negotiations, the Brazilian outfit agreed a fee with West Ham believed to be €42.25m (£35.8m, $49.4m), which makes Paquetá the most expensive player ever signed by a club in the Americas.
Paquetá's transfer eclipsed the previous record set only a few weeks ago by Brazilian club Cruzeiro, who signed midfielder Gerson from Zenit for a fixed fee of €27m ($32m), plus €3m ($3.5m) in add-ons.
Of the top 10 most expensive transfers in the Americas, eight have been carried out by Brazilian clubs and each of those have been done in the past two years. Two MLS teams are in the top 10.
South Korea forward Son Heung-Min's move to Los Angeles FC from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2025 for a fee of $26.3m ranks seventh while Atlanta United's signing of Ivory Coast forward Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta United from Middlesbrough FC on Feb. 2025 is eighth.
Top 10 most expensive transfers for clubs in North and South America
Lucas Paquetá from West Ham to Flamengo -- $50.2m fee on Jan. 28, 2026.
Gerson from Zenit to Cruzeiro -- $32m fee on Jan. 8, 2026.
Vitor Roque from Barcelona to Palmeiras -- $30m fee on Feb. 28, 2025.
Thiago Almada from Atlanta United to Botafogo -- $28.7m fee on July 6, 2024.
Danilo from Nottingham Forest to Botafogo -- $27.5m fee on July 18, 2025.
Samuel Lino from Atlético Madrid to Flamengo -- $26.3m fee on July 29, 2025.
Heung-min Son from Tottenham Hotspur to LAFC -- $26.3m fee on August 6, 2025.
Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough to Atlanta United -- $25.4m fee on Feb. 4, 2025.
Carlos Alcaraz from Southampton to Flamengo -- $21.5m fee on August 28, 2024.
Paulinho from Atlético Mineiro to Palmeiras -- $21.5m fee on Jan. 1, 2025.
*All values were converted to US dollars and taken from the specialized Transfermarkt portal. When equal value, those transfers carried out earlier have been prioritized.
