Jose Paulo Bezerra Maciel Junior, commonly known as Paulinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Barcelona and the Brazil national team.
Paulinho has been described as a box-to-box midfielder, with powerful running and good movement into the box. He also offers a useful presence in set piece situations at both ends of the pitch.
In 2009, playing for Bragantino, he drew the attention of Sao Paulo giants Corinthians, and was signed by the club. On 6 July 2013, Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the signing of Paulinho after he successfully completed his medical for a fee reported to be just under £17 million. This was the club's record transfer fee at the time. On 30 June 2015, Paulinho joined Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for €14 million (£9.9 million), signing a four-year deal. He was signed by his former international manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari. There he won the AFC Champions League in 2015. On 14 August 2017, Barcelona announced a deal with Guangzhou Evergrande for the purchase of Paulinho for €40 million. His consistent performance earned him a place as a starter in the squad.
Paulinho made his debut for the Selecao on 14 September 2011 in the first leg of the 2011 Superclasico de las Americas against rivals Argentina in Cordoba. He was included in Scolari's 2014 World Cup squad as well. In the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup Paulinho scored his first ever career hat-trick in a match away against Uruguay. Brazil had initially gone behind but came back for their first time anyone had won in Uruguay since the qualifying round had started. In May 2018 he was named in Tite's final 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. |
