If football is about passion, no amount of money should persuade one to think otherwise. Securing a move to the Chinese Super League is what top players may consider once they reach the end of their playing career. With plenty of gas still left in the tank, Paulinho can still be a key figure in the Barcelona dressing room.
Reports suggest that a return to China is well on the cards for the Brazilian midfielder despite him having a fine season at Camp Nou. He is currently on international duty, representing Brazil in the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia but his nation was eliminated last night by a dogged Belgium side led by Roberto Martinez.
Paulinho brings stability to the Barcelona midfield and alongside Sergio Busquets, the duo combined to form a strong partnership. This allows the Catalonian club to hold on to the ball more often and implement their prestigious Johan Cruyff way of playing football.
The Brazilian can be summed up in one word as a powerhouse. Physically imposing with speed on his side, Paulinho has a good sense of self-positioning on the field. He acts as the engine of the team and can speed up or slow down the tempo of the match.
Only Atletico Madrid can boast a better defensive record than Barcelona in the 2017-2018 season as they finished the season conceding a mere 22 goals. Barcelona will look to better themselves next time around and the need to concede fewer goals will definitely be in mind of their head coach Ernesto Valverde.
Paulinho’s rise to prominence came during his time at Corinthians where he spent three seasons while making 86 appearances and scoring 20 goals. His move to North London with Tottenham Hotspur bore little fruit as he failed to live up to the expectations of manager Mauricio Pochettino. Two seasons later and with no major trophy under his belt, Paulinho was shipped off to cash-laden Chinese Club Guangzhou Evergrande.
The move to China was viewed widely as the start of the end of the Brazilian midfielder’s time as a professional footballer. The tides changed as the swap for England with China in fact rejuvenated Paulinho as the player people knew him to be. Frequent game time at Guangzhou Evergrande saw the holding midfielder net 17 goals in 63 appearances for the Southern China Tigers.
Barcelona currently rates the ageing Paulinho at €50m but after his impressive displays for Brazil in the 2018 World Cup, we can expect his transfer value to rise even further.
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A second spell at China might not be a step in the wrong direction for the Samba man.
