The new-look Paris Saint-Germain is taking shape. After Gabriel Moscardo (Corinthians), the capital club wants to continue its reconstruction by recruiting new Brazilian talent. This time it is São Paulo defender Lucas Beraldo. Aged 20, the native of Piracicaba is announced to be very close to the French champion club. The Rouge et Bleu have also made an offer of €20 million + €5 million in bonuses. A sale that would not displease the Tricolor. São Paulo knows that it will not be able to keep its nugget forever, its objective is therefore to make Beraldo the juiciest sale in the history of Brazil for a defender, ahead of the transfers of Edmilson to OL (2000) and from Breno to Bayern Munich (2007), two former Paulistas sold for around ten million euros.
SPFC fans call him ‘crazy’
With the offer from PSG, the challenge will be met without any worries. But who is this Lucas Beraldo? Revealed with the SPFC U20 team, with which he won the U20 Brazilian Cup and the U20 Brazilian Super Cup in 2020, Beraldo was promoted to the first team in 2021, at the request of a certain Hernan Crespo, when The Argentinian coached the Brazilian team. Beraldo had to wait until 2022 to take his first steps as a professional, but very quickly, São Paulo knew that a talent with great potential was emerging. A gem considered a defender with a very classy style, who prefers, for the moment, shadow to light. “He doesn’t like using cell phones or social media much. His Instagram account is managed by the team who works with him. He prefers to stay at home, with his fiancée, who lives with him and studies medicine”confided one of his relatives to Estadão.
Discreet and reserved, Beraldo is also described as a calm player on the pitch, but not only that. Left-handed having already evolved in the right axis, Beraldo could therefore just as easily help out PSG on the left (replacing Kimpembe or Milan Skriniar for example) or on the right (when Luis Enrique wants to blow Marquinhos). At a time when Paris is also looking for elements with strong character, Beraldo is considered a cold-blooded element, to whom São Paulo supporters have given a funny nickname. They started calling the defender “crazy” and compared him to the famous villain, the Joker. The reason ? Because Beraldo sometimes starts laughing in certain situations. “For those who call me crazy when I laugh during the anthem (laughs), it’s mental work that I do to be calmer during matches. It’s work that I do to not be so anxious in decisive matches and it works”declared the main interested party after a match against Vasco.
A pressure-proof technique
Mentally strong, Beraldo is described as a player capable of playing under pressure thanks to his good technique which allows him to get by with his one-touch game. If some consider him as a defender who is still a little slow, the Brazilian impresses thanks to other aspects of his game, namely his excellent defensive positioning which allows him to be a good interceptor of balls, his good heading game and above all his technique. Because one of Beraldo’s strong points highlighted by all observers is his ability to participate in the game. Very comfortable handling the ball, the young defender also knows how to break the lines thanks to his laser passes. An XXL recovery quality which would be very useful to PSG for its game, but also because Luis Enrique’s club is often the author of big passing errors when its defenders are put under pressure. Marquinhos (against Newcastle) and Achraf Hakimi (against BVB) can attest to this.
The versatile defender can control the ball with both feet. He can therefore be quick to control with his left foot and play with his right foot. A style appreciated by his coach Dorival, who likes this approach without long clearances with big kicks, always with the ball at his feet. A recovery game from defense also appreciated at PSG. Finally, Beraldo has an intelligent vision of the game. He plays with his head held high, which allows him to have a good vision of the field. “As he can control the ball quickly, he always knows where a teammate is who can receive the ball”, explains one of his relatives. So much praise that his former coach at the São Paulo U20s, Alex, confirmed a few months ago, before leaving the SPFC. ” He is scary. He is scary. He is very good technically. Physically, he still suffers a little from his age. He is only 19 years old (20 years since the interview, editor’s note). He’s not the kind of guy who, at 18, is ready. He will evolve a lot physically. He will grow with each match. Technically it has different characteristics. He is courageous and with his passes he breaks the lines. The ball comes from behind. Beraldo is money in the bank for São Paulo. » Alex was not wrong. It now remains to be seen whether Paris will succeed in finalizing the arrival of Brazil’s most highly rated central defender.
