In the prelude to September, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club's legendary wide player Paulinho made his retirement announcement public through a compelling video. This breaking news quickly made waves in the soccer world, and on the same day, Zhu Xiaogang, formerly of Dalian Side, also spoke out publicly, recalling his former duel with Paulinho, and couldn't help but exclaim: "It was a real honor to play against him on the field, and his strength was truly unparalleled."
Zhu's sentiments are not an isolated case, as Paulinho has been in the thick of the action with his rivals in the Chinese Super League on a number of occasions. From June 2015 to August 2017 and then July 2018 until June 2021, Paulinho played twice for Guangzhou, participating in a total of 176 matches, scoring 75 goals and dishing out 29 assists, adding to his glory and winning a number of honors including the AFC Champions League title, four titles in the Chinese Super League, one in the FA Cup as well as two in the Super Cup.
