Paulinho decides to announce his final decision, the most important of his career, the one which sends him home and gives farewell to the played football.
At the age of 36, passing his final days at Corinthians and without a club for a couple of months, he decided to announce his retirement from football. The player covered the roles of the pivot and the left and the right midfielder. He contributed to the Brazilian National Team and had a brilliant club career.
He started to play with Pão de Açúcar, joining the second team in 2004. Then he climbed the stairs to the main stage of football when he completed his transfer to Corinthians, after adventures in Lithuania, Poland, and Italian Serie B. The big move was yet to come in 2013 when he completed the move to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.
Guangzhou and Barcelona were the last important steps in his club career. Barca purchased him for €40 million from Guangzhou in 2017. He returned to China though, before sealing his return to Brazil to Corinthians. He passes an enormous career winning the double with Barca in the 2017-18 season.
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Paulinho was a player of his kind, playing as a pivot in a 4-2-3-1 or as a midfielder in a 4-3-3 system. So football was his way of life and he understood the game so well. Each game was important and the last ones in Brazil tested his tenacity and stamina. But each journey has an end and for Paulinho, this was the right time to say goodbye.
Paulinho made his international debut with Brazil on 14 September 2011 against Argentina. He played in the 2013 Confederations Cup, FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, and FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. Being a box-to-box midfielder he had all it takes to make to the top and succeded in many occasions.
Now is the time for him to rest and think about the next steps, maybe again in the industry of football. Meanwhile, the options are numerous, he will decide what is best for him. Now is the time to think and restart because he has so much to share in this wonderful sport.