He didn’t live up to expectations at Tottenham Hotspur, but Brazilian midfielder Paulinho may be good enough for Barcelona.
The 28-year-old currently plies his trade for Guangzhou Evergrande, where he has 11 goals in 23 matches this season, but Barcelona’s made an offer for his services.
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His pal Neymar has publicly spoken of his desire to have Paulinho as a teammate, and the player admits that he’s become enamored of the idea since hearing about the Barca’s offer.
From AS:“I’m not a hypocrite - I am a very open person and I do think about Barcelona. The buy-out clause in my contract is 40 million euros and I believe Barça offered 20 which Guangzhou rejected. My agent has told me that talks are set to continue. Most players don’t talk about these things until things start moving but I can confirm that the interest is real.
“All I know is that there is a formal offer and that Barcelona’s president has spoken to club directors but no agreement was reached. There is a chance that both clubs can come to an agreement. It’s possible that I could play for Barcelona with the best players in the world. I could be part of a club full of stars. Barça’s offer was bigger than we thought. There’ll be more conversations between the clubs. I hope an agreement can be reached.”
Imagine Tottenham facing Paulinho and Barcelona in a knockout round match during next season’s Champions League.
