Paris Saint-Germain confirm Lucas Beraldo signing on five-year contract

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the signing of 20-year-old centre-back Lucas Beraldo from Sao Paulo.

The 2003-born defender has penned a four-and-a-half-year deal with Les Parisiens until the end of the 2027-28 season and becomes their first signing of the January transfer window.

PSG are believed to have forked out a fixed fee of €20m (£17.4m) with no add-ons to sign Beraldo, who will wear the number 35 shirt during his time at the Parc des Princes.

"I'm really happy to be joining a club as ambitious as Paris Saint-Germain. This is an important step in my career and one that will help me to move forward. I can't wait to get to know my new teammates and to take my first steps in this shirt," Beraldo told the official PSG website.

The Brazilian joined the Sao Paulo academy setup in 2020 after leaving Piracicaba, and he departs the South American giants having scored one goal in 52 senior matches for the club in all tournaments.

Beraldo made 48 of those appearances during a breakthrough 2023 campaign, in which he won his first major trophy in the form of the Copa do Brasil, playing every minute of his side's two-legged final win over Flamengo.

✨ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 ✨

Wait till the end 👀❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/J7lnswdInp

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 1, 2024

Beraldo also helped Sao Paulo reach the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, and he earned his first three caps for Brazil's Under-20s in 2022, wearing the captain's armband in a 1-0 beating of Uzbekistan.

Premier League giants Liverpool were also believed to have taken a liking to Beraldo and were even said to have flown a delegation out to Brazil, but the Reds did not make an official move for him.

The 20-year-old arrives in the French capital to provide backup and competition for Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar, Lucas Hernandez, Danilo Pereira and Presnel Kimpembe, the latter of whom has not made a single appearance this season due to an Achilles injury.

Following confirmation of Beraldo's transfer, PSG are soon expected to announce the capture of another Brazilian protege in the shape of 18-year-old Corinthians midfielder Gabriel Moscardo.

Moscardo is also set to join for an identical fee of €20m (£17.4m), although Corinthians could receive an additional €2m (£1.7m) in performance-related bonuses.

PSG hold a five-point lead over Nice at the top of the Ligue 1 table and return to action on Wednesday, taking on Coupe de France winners Toulouse in the Trophee des Champions.