Lucas Paqueta reveals ‘tasty’ Newcastle United bet with Bruno Guimaraes after joining West Ham

Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes will have their own personal bet when Newcastle United and West Ham United next face each other.

The Magpies were due to travel to the capital on Sunday but had the fixture postponed following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

It would have been the first time the Brazilian pair had been on opposite teams having previously played together at Ligue 1 outfit Lyon.

Paqueta and Guimaraes will now have to wait until 2023 before doing so, and the new West Ham star has revealed there is a ‘loser pays for dinner’ bet on the line

“We had a bet with each other that the loser has to buy dinner - dinner in London, because we already had dinner in Newcastle,” Paqueta said, who visited Guimaraes on Tyneside in May.

“Bruno and Vinicius Jr (of Real Madrid) are my two best friends in football. I’ve known Vini since we were ten, at Flamengo, and me and Bruno built this amazing friendship at Lyon and became really close.

“It seems like yesterday we were playing video games together and talking about what it would be like if we ever played against each other. And soon it will happen.”

With Guimaraes and Paqueta’s brotherly bond well publicised, Newcastle were frequently linked with a summer swoop for the attacking midfielder, however Eddie Howe’s side never pursued a move.

The Hammers paid a reported £51million fee to land the 25-year-old.

“Bruno told me the Premier League is a great competition and was very complimentary about West Ham,” Paqueta said.

“He told me it was a great club and difficult to play against. I just joked and said, ‘They’ll be even more difficult when I am there!’”