Roberto Carlos believes that Newcastle United and the Premier League could be the ideal next step for Lucas Paqueta.
The Lyon star remains in Ligue 1 despite interest from United and Arsenal in recent times. Paqueta visited Tyneside a couple of times last season after his close pal Bruno Guimaraes moved to the Premier League. Carlos knows both players well and feels that Paqueta could do worse than to test himself at Newcastle like Bruno has.
He told Chronicle Live: "Normally a player that is playing in the Brazil national team is linked with many clubs. "He has great potential and England could be a great step for his career."
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Carlos has also been impressed with Guimaraes and feels that he has proved himself by stepping into big shoes when Real Madrid ace Casemiro has missed out. With Casemiro heading into his peak years, Bruno could be the long-term replacement.
Carlos said: "Bruno was brought in from France to help keep the team in the Premier League and they have achieved that. In the national team, when Casemiro doesn’t play, he does and has been playing well."
The Real Madrid and Inter Milan legend has been keeping a close eye on events at Newcastle following the Middle East takeover which was finally passed last autumn. Carlos said: "Whenever there are new owners, they need to structure the club well, not just financially but the roots of the club.
"To win titles isn’t just about spending money on players but, the football project has to be good and look at clubs that have done this in the past and use this as inspiration. This will help Newcastle achieve their goals."
After playing in Soccer Aid last night, Carlos reflected: "Playing in England is always great, it’s a stadium (London Stadium) that already has held historical moments and it’s great to be on the pitch, seeing the fans and who knows, maybe even scoring a goal."
Childhood should be one endless playtime. But around the world conflict, disease, hunger, poverty and disaster are disrupting play for millions of kids. And it is children that are often hardest hit – like the 7.5 million children currently affected by the conflict in Ukraine. They risk losing their homes, their families, and their schools. They lose the ability to just be kids.
The money raised from this year’s game could help UNICEF provide vaccines, fight malnutrition, and provide safe spaces to protect children in times of crisis, helping kids get back to the childhoods they are entitled to. And it could do so much more to allow kids to simply be.
Please give what you can today and help UNICEF protect play for every child.
