Brazilian winger Lucas Moura returns to Sao Paulo

"Lucas is back!" Sao Paulo FC said in a statement, making the 30-year-old international the latest South American footballer to head home for a late-career swan song. The winger, whose contract with Tottenham ended in June, will join Colombian forward James Rodriguez, 32, whose signing with Sao Paulo was announced Saturday.

Moura made his professional debut with Sao Paulo in 2010, winning the Copa Sudamericana with them two years later before heading to Europe for a decade. Returning to the club "is a whirlwind of emotions," he said in the statement.

"Just remembering everything I lived through here, coming back after all this time, it's very exciting. I'm very happy." Sao Paulo transferred Moura to PSG in 2012 for a $53-million fee, the biggest at the time for a Brazilian team.

After struggling to make his mark at the star-studded French club, he left in 2018 to join Tottenham, where he memorably scored a hat-trick against Ajax in the 2019 Champions League semi-final, before the club's loss to Liverpool in the final.

 

August 2, 2023