Transfer Centre

Paulinho: 'I could still join Barcelona this summer'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 08 July 2017

Paulinho hopes to join Barcelona from Guangzhou Evergrande during the summer transfer window, having seen the Catalan club's initial bid rejected earlier this week.

Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder Paulinho has confessed that he wants to join Barcelona and remains hopeful that an agreement can be reached between the two clubs.

The Catalan giants saw a £17m bid turned down for the former Tottenham Hotspur ace earlier this week, requiring double that amount to meet his buyout clause.

Paulinho admits that he is still 'thinking about Barcelona' and believes that he could still be on his way back to Europe if an improved offer is tabled before the end of the transfer window.

Speaking to Brazilian publication Band, he said: "I'm not a hypocrite and I'm a transparent person. I think about Barca. The clause in my contract is €40m and I believe Barca offered €20m and that Guangzhou rejected the offer. My agent told me there are new conversations.

"The majority of players don't ever speak until something happens but I can confirm that the interest is real. What I know is that there's a formal offer and the president of Barcelona spoke with the directors, although there wasn't an agreement. It's possible that I will play at Barcelona among a number of star players.

"I could become part of a club full of stars. There will still be conversations. There's the possibility that there will be an agreement between the clubs and if that's what I want, it will happen."

Paulinho spent two largely unsuccessful years with Spurs, before joining Guangzhou in 2015 and scoring 27 goals in 89 appearances.