Back in 2019, Crystal Palace signed Lucas Perri from São Paulo on a loan deal. The goalkeeper only spent six months in London, not making any official appearances, and soon returned to Brazil.
A lot has happened in his career since then. In 2022, he moved to Náutico, and with great performances there, he soon joined Botafogo. That’s where his career had a meteoric rise.
Perri is a star in a team which is now fighting for the league title, and had his first call-up to play for Brazil. And it turns out his time at Crystal Palace was now recalled in an interview with UOL.
“That period I was able to spend there was a huge experience, not just as an athlete, but as a person. I went completely out of my comfort zone, to another continent, another language. It was very challenging and I was able to live in a different environment, which opened my mind.”
Crystal Palace may be happy to have spent just €17.5m to sign Dean Henderson from Manchester United this summer, but it seems if they’d believed in Perri’s potential then there could have been a different outcome.
