# Paulinho (footballer, born 1988)
**Paulinho** (José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior; born 1988 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a retired Brazilian central midfielder who played for Corinthians, Tottenham Hotspur, Guangzhou Evergrande, and Barcelona, and won 56 caps for Brazil, scoring 13 goals.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) • [2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229) He retired on 1 July 2024 after nearly twenty years as a professional, and moved into football administration, working as a director of football in Brazil.[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229) • [3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior, born 1988 in São Paulo, Brazil[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) |
| Position | Central midfielder; 50% of his monitored matches as a central midfielder, 41% as a defensive midfielder, 8.5% as an attacking midfielder[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) |
| Major transfers | Corinthians to Tottenham (6 July 2013); Tottenham to Guangzhou Evergrande (20 July 2015, £9.8m); Guangzhou to Barcelona (2017, reported 40 million euros)[5](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/106800/paulinho) • [4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) |
| Club honors | Copa Libertadores, FIFA Club World Cup, and Brasileirão with Corinthians; Asian Champions League title with Guangzhou; La Liga with Barcelona[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) • [6](https://branchesofhope.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-HA-INFO-PACK-for-previous-team-2_compressed.pdf) |
| Brazil record | 56 caps, 13 goals; 2014 and 2018 World Cup squads; 2013 Confederations Cup winner[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229) • [1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) |
| Scoring rate | 82 goals in 398 professional matches to August 2017, one every 4.85 matches[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) |
| Retirement | Retired since 1 July 2024; last club Corinthians[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229) |
## Early career
Paulinho came through the youth setup of Audax São Paulo, and his first professional experience came through unusual channels: a loan to FC REO Vilnius in [Lithuania](https://www.edgepedia.org/lithuania) in the 2006/07 season, then a loan to ŁKS in Poland.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) His club history records spells at Pão de Açúcar (2006 to 2007 and 2008 to 2009), FC Vilnius, and LKS Lodz before he joined Bragantino in June 2009.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) Coimbra was the first club to sign him outright, paying around half a million euros, and Corinthians then took him on loan before paying five million euros for the midfielder after his good performances.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/)
## Corinthians and the 2012 Club World Cup
At Corinthians, Paulinho established himself as a physical, box-to-box midfielder and won the [Copa Libertadores](https://www.edgepedia.org/copa-libertadores), the [FIFA Club World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-club-world-cup), and the Brasileirão.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) In the 2012 Club World Cup final, Corinthians outfought Chelsea 1-0, and Paulinho played a central role in the winning goal: he played a back-heeled pass in a one-two before laying the ball off to Danilo, whose shot deflected off [Gary Cahill](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-cahill) and was finished by Paolo Guerrero.[7](https://hindi3.sportskeeda.com/football/paulinho-scout-report)
## Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham signed Paulinho for a fee close to 20 million euros in July 2013, a major investment at the time in one of Brazil's prominent prospects.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) His first Premier League season was his strongest: 28 league appearances with 6 goals in 2013-14, plus goals in the League Cup and the Europa League.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) His second season went the other way, with only 3 league starts and 12 substitute appearances in 2014-15, and he left English football in the summer of 2015 with little ceremony.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-brazil-paulinho-back-from-the-dead-post-tottenham-spurs-obituaries-barcelona-a8051646.html) He had also lost his place in the Brazil team after the 2014 World Cup, and his move to the [Chinese Super League](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-super-league) was widely read as the end of his career at the top level.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-brazil-paulinho-back-from-the-dead-post-tottenham-spurs-obituaries-barcelona-a8051646.html)
## Guangzhou Evergrande
Guangzhou Evergrande paid £9.8 million for Paulinho on 20 July 2015, in an era when the Chinese league was emerging with offers players could not refuse.[5](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/106800/paulinho) • [3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) He won the Asian Champions League title there and shared a dressing room with his compatriot and former Premier League star Óscar.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) His form in China, under the Brazil coach Tite's national-team watch, revived his international career: he was among the most prominent players in Brazil's dominant CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign, which left the team nine points clear of second-placed Colombia.[9](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/14/futbol/1502713178_565831.html)
## Barcelona
Barcelona signed Paulinho from [Guangzhou](https://www.edgepedia.org/guangzhou) in August 2017 for 40 million euros, a fee that was criticized in the city as excessive for a 29-year-old arriving from the Chinese league.[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) His profile was the opposite of the technical midfield Barcelona had built around Xavi, but the club wanted his physicality, his long-range shooting, his aerial threat at set pieces, and his late runs into the area.[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) • [9](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/14/futbol/1502713178_565831.html) He won [La Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-liga) in his season there.[6](https://branchesofhope.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-HA-INFO-PACK-for-previous-team-2_compressed.pdf) On 8 July 2018, Barcelona confirmed he was leaving to rejoin Guangzhou Evergrande on an initial one-season loan.[5](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/106800/paulinho)
## Brazil international
Paulinho made his senior Brazil debut in September 2011 against Argentina in the [Superclásico](https://www.edgepedia.org/superclasico) de las Américas.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) He was part of the squad that won the 2013 [FIFA Confederations Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-confederations-cup), playing four matches and scoring two goals, including the tournament's 3-0 final win over Spain.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) He was included in Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad and played in the tournament, including the 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany and the 3-0 third-place play-off loss to the Netherlands.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) Recalled under Tite, he became a regular in 2016-17 World Cup qualifying, scoring four goals in seven qualifiers, and played at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Brazil reached the quarter-finals before losing 2-1 to Belgium.[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/) His scoring rate for Brazil was unusually high for a midfielder: nine goals in his first 41 matches, one every 4.55 matches.[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html)
## Playing style
Paulinho was a physical, high-endurance central midfielder with clever late runs into the box, a profile the Independent described as an increasingly rare classic No 8 skill set at the top level.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-brazil-paulinho-back-from-the-dead-post-tottenham-spurs-obituaries-barcelona-a8051646.html) A positional analysis of 198 of his matches found he played half of them as a central midfielder, 41 percent as a defensive midfielder, and only 8.5 percent as an attacking midfielder, meaning he could fill any of the three midfield roles in a 4-3-3.[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html) He credited futsal in his childhood for building his passing foundation, and described studying link-up play with teammates after matches.[10](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/training/paulinho-run-engine-room) His goal return was consistent for his position: 82 goals in 398 professional matches to August 2017, one every 4.85 matches.[4](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html)
## Retirement and executive career
Paulinho announced his retirement in September 2024 in an Instagram video titled "Gracias, fútbol", after almost twenty years in the professional game and a final spell at Corinthians, the club where he had won his biggest titles.[3](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/) He moved quickly into administration, becoming director of football at Mirassol-SP, a smaller Brazilian club with clear ambitions.[2](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229) • [11](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-esta-de-moda-f202610-n/) His work there led to his appointment as the sporting director of Cruzeiro, the ambitious [Minas Gerais](https://www.edgepedia.org/minas-gerais) club seeking to compete domestically with Palmeiras and Flamengo.[11](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-esta-de-moda-f202610-n/)
## References
1. [Paulinho Football Player Statistics, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/paulinho-240427/)
2. [Paulinho - Transfer history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/paulinho/transfers/spieler/57229)
3. [Paulinho cuelga las botas, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-cuelga-las-botas-n/)
4. [Lo de Paulinho no es el gol... anota cada 4.8 partidos, AS USA](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/15/futbol/1502812397_466192.html)
5. [Paulinho - Brazil, Player Profile, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/player/106800/paulinho)
6. [2025 H&A Info Pack, Branches of Hope](https://branchesofhope.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-HA-INFO-PACK-for-previous-team-2_compressed.pdf)
7. [Paulinho: Scout Report, Sportskeeda](https://hindi3.sportskeeda.com/football/paulinho-scout-report)
8. [Paulinho returns from the dead with Brazil, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-brazil-paulinho-back-from-the-dead-post-tottenham-spurs-obituaries-barcelona-a8051646.html)
9. [¿Qué aportará la llegada de Paulinho al Barça?, AS USA](https://as.com/us/us/2017/08/14/futbol/1502713178_565831.html)
10. [Paulinho: Run the engine room, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/training/paulinho-run-engine-room)
11. [Paulinho está de moda, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/paulinho-esta-de-moda-f202610-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of South America › Brazilian men's footballers › Contemporary Brazilian footballers › Brazilian footballers born in the 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license