Former Guangzhou Evergrande defender Paulinho recently opened up to Brazilian media outlet Gremistas, sharing his desire to return to his home country during his stay in Brazil last year. He confessed that he had rejected the call of his mentor Scolari and was only interested in returning to the green fields of China. However, the club's sudden financial woes left the soccer superstar waiting to return to his homeland.
Paulinho recalled: "I was in the negotiation phase with Guangzhou Evergrande, and once my contract was terminated, I was free to join another team. At first, it was Machado who contacted me, followed by a call from Scolari, who was in charge of Gremio at the time, and he said to me sincerely: 'Mate, we need you urgently.' But at a time when I was disillusioned, I was eager to return to China and everything seemed to be just right. So I told him I wanted to take a break before making a decision."
In addition, Paulinho explained why he did not choose to join Red Bulls Bragantino on loan: "I trained at Bragantino for about four months, but Guangzhou Evergrande did not agree to my lease plan. When I was actually released from my contract with the club, I started to think about where I wanted to go. In Brazil, only Corinthians and Gremio reached an agreement with me."
Through Paulinho's account, it is easy to realize that before he officially bid farewell to Guangzhou Evergrande last season, he was eager to return to China. Unfortunately, however, the financial crisis in the Chinese Super League broke out. Evergrande couldn't afford Paulinho's super-high annual salary of 10 million euros, and the two sides had no choice but to terminate the contract; at the same time, it was difficult for other clubs to bring in such a high-paying foreign aid, so Paulinho could only leave with tears in his eyes. As a generation of legendary foreign aid in the Chinese Super League, his departure did not draw a satisfactory conclusion, which is a pity.
