Luis Guilherme reveals what surprised him most about West Ham exit after 'very difficult' stay
Luis Guilherme suggests he has mentally improved since leaving West Ham United earlier this year.
The Hammers cut their losses with the winger, who they sold to Sporting CP in January.
The Irons signed the 20-year-old from Palmeiras for £25million in 2024, who brought plenty of excitement to E20.
However, Guilherme only managed to play 18 times in total for West Ham, scoring no goals and failing to register an assist in that time.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side sold him to Sporting CP for £12m, though many believed the club should have sanctioned a loan move first.
Guilherme has now opened up on his failed move to West Ham, explaining the reasons why things didn't work out at the London Stadium.
Luis Guilherme thought West Ham exit would have come earlier
According to The Guardian, West Ham paid an initial £19.5m for Guilherme, while a further £5.5m was based on add-ons.
It's safe to say that the Brazilian failed to meet many, if not all, of those add-ons, which may be something positive for the Hammers to take.
The versatile winger has spoken out about his challenges at the London Stadium, even revealing how he didn't think that he would last more than six months.
Guilherme said, as quoted by A Bola: "In the beginning, it was the intensity, completely different from that of Brazil.
"The first three months were very difficult for me because of everything: not only for football, but for the country, for the language and for the culture.
"Honestly, I thought I wouldn't stay there long; I thought I would stay six months at most. It was important to mature as a person and as a player. Now I'm stronger mentally."
West Ham had signed a teenager at the time; a young boy who didn't know the English language, and he was always going to need extra support to thrive.
But did they make the right move in selling him early?
How is Guilherme doing at Sporting CP?
Guilherme arrived at West Ham with bags of potential, and though it didn't work out in E20, there's nothing to case he can't thrive elsewhere.
The former Brazil U20s star grabbed two goals in his first season with Sporting, which was a better return than his time with the Irons.
However, he's only made seven appearances so far this term, with only one league start to his name.
Interestingly, he did manage to start in the Champions League for the Portuguese side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 win over Galatasaray.
There's still a long way to go for Guilherme to prove West Ham wrong, but the Hammers' early decision to cut their losses could prove to have been the right call to make.