"Tearful" Son Heung-min + China → Barca One Season Wonder Retired at age 36'It was a great career'
Sep 09, 2024
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Paulinho announced his retirement on his personal channel on the 9th (Korea time). Paulinho, who stood in front of the camera in a neat shirt, calmly spoke about his retirement background and feelings, and began to cry with emotion. It must have been that sad to end the 18-year-long career at one point.
Paulinho felt in the video that playing in front of 45,000 Corinthians fans would be my last game. And I thought it was a better time to say goodbye."
"I've had the privilege of winning many important tournaments. I've played in two World Cups, played for a high-rated club like Barcelona. "
He posted a message on social media, "Thank you, football."," he wrote. The Barcelona club thanked the club for wearing the Barcelona shirt. Good luck on the new stage." Andres Iniesta (Emirates Club), a former Barcelona teammate, also said "Big Brother, congratulations on your career. I wish you good luck all the time..." he left a heartwarming message. Neymar (Al-Hilal), who was close, expressed regret with a tear emoji.
Paulinho, who was an unknown prospect who did not go through Brazil's national team by age, began to stand out at Corinthians in the early 2010s. In 2013, he joined Tottenham for a club record of 17 million pounds. One of Gareth Bale's 'Legacy' who left for Real Madrid was Paulinho.
Paulinho, a box-to-box midfielder with tremendous energy and an outstanding scoring sense, successfully settled down with a total of eight goals, including six in the league, in his first season as Tottenham (2013-2014).
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Paulinho was 'Soccer God' in Guangzhou. Chinese professional football has shown off his 'Walkle' skills that he has never had before. Paulinho himself touched money that he could not earn in his life if he played in Europe or South America. He worked with Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), who played as a key Guangzhou defender from 2012 to 2018, for a long time.
Then in 2017, a surprising thing happened. Barcelona, where Lionel Messi was active, reached out to Paulinho, who plays in China. The transfer fee was 40 million euros, equivalent to a buyout. Paulinho led Barcelona's La Liga and Copa del Rey double with a remarkable performance that scored nine goals while focusing on the role of supporting Messi and Luis Suarez.
'One-season wonder' Paulinho returned to Guangzhou after one season and spent the year 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. In 2019, he received the Chinese Super League Most Valuable Player Award. After a brief stint in Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia, he played on the Corinthians stage from 2022 to this year. Since suffering a fatal cruciate ligament injury in Brazil, it has been evaluated that it has lost its explosive power as before.
Paulinho scored 13 goals in 56 A matches for Brazil from 2011 to 2018. In October 2013, he visited Korea and participated in a friendly match against Hong Myung-bo's first national team. He played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
