“The pitch was my home,” Paulinho says in a video posted on his Instagram account this Sunday, where he announces his retirement. “It’s difficult… Paulinho, 36 years old, and now a former player,” he says in tears.
After returning home in 2022 wearing the Corinthians jersey again, it was time for the Brazilian international to draw a line under the professional world. “I spent 30 years in the world of football. When I started at five years old, I persevered, because I knew that there were no two ways, the only one was football,” he confides with a trembling voice. So a few decades later, as a symbol, Paulinho played his last match with the Timao. “My last encounter with the Corinthians jersey, I felt something incredible. Nothing would have been better than celebrating it with the 45,000 Corinthians,” he admits.
A career full of twists and turns
It was in Colombia that Paulinho began his career with FC Vilnius in 2006. His desire to move, to discover, began early, very early, with a first departure, in Europe, in the Polish club of Lodz.
In a place he knows better, the Brazilian midfielder returned to the country in 2008 and discovered two clubs before joining his hometown, Sao Paulo, and Corinthians, for three seasons… a record of stability for him… and it paid off. Since in 2011, Paulinho joined the Selaçao for the first time.
With Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilian is playing his first World Cup, at home, with the story we know: a slap received by the Germans (7-1) and a disappointing fourth place.
Exposed with this competition, the South American also shows himself with Tottenham. But after only two years of good and loyal service, Paulinho surprises and decides to leave Europe… for Asia, with the Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande.
“Privileged to have been a multi-champion”
As unexpected as his departure to China, the Brazilian international has once again shocked football fans by signing for FC Barcelona. In La Liga, the Sao Paulo native shows that he is worth his 40 million euros (a sum paid by the Catalans). With more than forty matches, Paulinho has become an undisputed starter in midfield and above all one of the great architects of the Blaugranas’ league and cup double, during the hegemony of Real Madrid, who won their third consecutive Champions League.
A return to China a year later and a (very brief) discovery of Saudi Arabia, Paulinho returns to the country of football in 2022, at home, at Corinthians. His career will have been rich, a source of pride for the main person concerned. “Privileged to have been a multi-champion, winning important championships like the Libertadores or La Liga. To have played in two World Cups and played for Barcelona. There is also pride in having represented my country,” he concludes.
- RMC Sport
