Just imagine it: You're 20 years old, you've had the biggest clubs in the world turning your head for months and now you've finally arrived at your destination, Paris Saint-Germain, one of the biggest spending clubs of the past year.
You have high expectations balanced upon your young shoulders, and the excitement of an enormous €45 million payday well within your sight. If you're Lucas Moura, you choose your signing day to make a big statement:
"I will fight to fulfill this goal to become number one. It's the dream of all the Brazilian players so it's mine (too)"
It's a bold announcement, but when you're joining a team with a guy who wrote a book called I AM ZLATAN, you can't have a shortage of self-confidence.
So who is Lucas Moura? The Brazilian international is described as a right-footed attacking midfielder who occasionally plays as a forward. Moura is known for his physical strength, but has been criticized by fans for not passing the ball often enough and losing concentration during matches.
According to ESPN the youngster made his first team debut for São Paulo FC in 2010, and scored four goals and provided an equal number of assists in 25 appearances during that season. The following season, Moura scored 13 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions for the club.
During the summer of 2011, Moura's star suddenly went on the rise, as representatives from Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter all began to court the youngster in earnest. Moura's appearances in international competitions for the Brazilian team only helped his stock go up, and Manchester United looked close to taking on the player until PSG suddenly entered the bidding war.
Qatar Investment Authority became the sole shareholders in the Paris club in 2011, and the new owners were quick to splash cash on Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. When PSG announced they were willing to buy Lucas Moura for €45 million in the summer of 2012, Manchester United quickly backed away from the youngster. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his astonishment to the press:
"When somebody's paying €45million for a 19-year-old boy you have to say the game's gone mad."
Only time and goals will tell if Lucas Moura can live up to his self-made and media-influenced hype. For now, just know that in Doha, there is a 20-year-old with great expectations and an even greater paycheck meeting with his new owners and learning to speak French in a hurry.
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