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Neymar once labelled Lucas Moura's January deadline day transfer to Tottenham "very unfair".

Lucas was signed from Sao Paulo by Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 for £33.5million, marking him as one of the most promising Brazilians in world football. Yet by January 2018, the winger was deemed expendable by then-manager Unai Emery.

Spurs showed a keen interest in signing the pacey forward that month and were able to snap up the then-25-year-old in a deadline day deal worth £25m. He penned a five-and-a-half-year contract with the Lilywhites, in the process becoming their record January transfer up to that point.

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However, his sudden PSG exit did not go down well with his compatriot and close friend, Neymar, who was then one of the biggest stars on the planet and had joined PSG for a world-record fee the previous summer.

Neymar believed Lucas, who had enjoyed his best season the previous campaign with 12 goals, was unfairly frozen out by Emery. Despite the Brazilian sensation's disapproval, his own arrival had contributed a great deal to Lucas' lack of minutes.

"I'm sad because he's a good friend, a quality player who has been used very little," the former Barcelona man said following PSG's Coupe de la Ligue semi-final win at Rennes.

"I think it's very unfair. He's my brother in football. I wish him all the best. Regardless of the destination, I hope he'll score a lot of goals and that he'll return to the Brazil team."

Neymar added: "He's not just a friend, he's someone who has a lot of quality. He could have been used a lot more here, I'm sure of that, but I'm not the team's owner. For me, he should never have left Paris."

Nevertheless, Lucas was delighted with his move to the Premier League. The club announced his arrival with a video involving a handshake with former PSG team-mate Serge Aurier.

Lucas said: "I’m so, so happy. It’s a new chapter in my life, a new challenge for me. I’ve joined a big club with big players and I look forward to playing and helping the team.

"I can play in the Champions League, which is a big objective for me and to make new friends is always a pleasure. I will give my best for this club. I think we have a lot of quality and I think we can win big things."

He very nearly did just that when he scored an incredible second-half hat-trick against Ajax to secure a famous Champions League semi-finals victory on aggregate. Unfortunately for Spurs, they would lose to Liverpool in the final, though Lucas’ legacy was cemented for his role.

Lucas went on to help Spurs reach the EFL Cup final in 2020/21, which they also lost to Manchester City. It was announced in January 2023, five years after his move, that hiscontract would not be extended in north London.

He joined boyhood club Sao Paulo that August. The 33-year-old remains a key player for the Brazilian giants and extended his contract until the end of 2026 in December.