With this former PL machine, the Hammers truly struck it rich.
The Hammers supporters were ecstatic when Jarrod Bowen scored on Lucas Paqueta’s through pass to win the Europa Conference League the previous season, but that game was a turning point for the team, which had disguised a lackluster Premier League campaign by winning the cup and selling midfield talisman Declan Rice to Arsenal for a club record £105 million.
Thanks to some outstanding hiring, West Ham has significantly improved and is currently ranked seventh in the Europa League quarterfinals, where they will face Bayer Leverkusen. Despite the Irons’ turbulent recent history, Paqueta—still the club record signing at £53 million—is a true success.
Even though he is the most expensive West Ham player ever, it’s difficult to dispute his skill or the contribution he has made to the team’s achievements and trophies.
Why is Lucas Paqueta so important to West Ham?
Edson Alvarez is doing a fantastic job anchoring the midfield as he replaces the irreplaceable sensation, Mohammed Kudus, but Paqueta, who was wooed by Manchester City, is without a doubt West Ham’s best player.
In an attempt to sign Paqueta in 2023 for £80 million, Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning team reached out to West Ham. However, they decided against it due to worries about the Brazilian’s alleged violations of the FA betting laws.
It’s also fortunate because Paqueta is one of the team’s most important players; it’s no accident that the 26-year-old’s injury kept him out of action during the team’s terrible January and February performance.
| West Ham PL Performance 23/24 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Games | Wins | PPG |
| With Paqueta | 22 | 12 | 1.8 |
| Without Paqueta | 7 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Sourced via Transfermarkt | |||
He is in the top 9% of passes attempted in the top five European leagues over the previous year, the top 6% in progressive passes, the top 1% in tackles, the top 19% in interceptions, the top 13% in clearances, and the top 4% in aerial wins per ninety. All of these statistics are based on FBref.
Given that the £150k-per-week star had seven goals and six assists in 2023–24 and had been praised by former teammate Rice for his “mind-boggling” ability, it is understandable why Manchester City was keen to sign him.
Paqueta may be the right player, but if this player had been sold in the current overpriced market, another South American player on West Ham’s roster would have been worth even more.
Carlos Tevez’s estimated net worth in 2024
That man is Carlos Tevez, who spent just one season kicking around in a West Ham shirt but is unquestionably one of the most talented strikers to have played for the London club, as the sizeable header above makes abundantly clear.
After being unexpectedly acquired from Brazilian team Corinthians in 2006, Tevez had high expectations going into his first season in the Premier League. He finished the season with seven goals and three assists from just 19 starts. On the last day of the season, Tevez’s goal gave his team a 1-0 victory over Manchester United and kept them in the top flight.
After winning the Player of the Year award from West Ham, Tevez signed a two-year loan deal with Manchester United and eventually agreed to a permanent £32 million transfer, which at the time appeared to break the British transfer record.
But after long-standing issues with West Ham’s registration, Tevez famously left Old Trafford to join fierce rivals Manchester City. After 99 games and 34 goals with Manchester United, the saga came to an end when Tevez signed a £25.5 million contract with the Sky Blues in 2009.
However, what if all of this occurred in real time? How much was the player likely to have cost? Thanks to the folks at Totally Money, everything has been outlined and the numbers crunched.
Tevez would have cost a whopping £60 million if the sale had occurred in 2024, according to the figure-led website. That amount may not have surpassed the incredible amount that West Ham was able to recover from Rice’s departure, but it would have allowed Tevez to move into a more lucrative market than Paqueta’s, who is currently valued at approximately €50 million (£42 million), according to CIES Football Observatory.
This is an impressive number, but it makes sense considering Tevez’s Premier League career, which saw him score 84 goals and provide 40 assists for his respective teams over 202 matches. Despite a difficult transition to England, Tevez proved to be a deadly goal scorer, peaking in his first few seasons with City with 43 league goals in two seasons.
Given that Danny Ings has been deceiving in front of goal since joining West Ham and that Michail Antonio is approaching the end of his career, the Argentine would be a great asset to the team right now. In 46 games, he has scored four goals.
All of this is, of course, tongue in cheek. Although Tevez hasn’t played for West Ham in 18 years, the situation does highlight how the game is always evolving and how much money is involved in football.
This is demonstrated by Rice’s move across London to the Emirates Stadium, which cost a staggering sum of money but was obviously well worth the trouble, boosting the Gunners’ title challenge.
Despite his problems at West Ham, Tevez was well worth the trouble. Broadcaster Sam Tighe praised him for his “monster” ability in front of goal, and his valuation by Totally Money only serves to emphasize how good he was.
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