On September 8, Guangzhou Evergrande's international star Paulinho made his retirement decision public through a video, which instantly created waves in the soccer world. Speaking on the matter, former Dalian side player Zhu Xiaogang also recalled his intense duel with Paulinho, saying with emotion, "It was a real honor to play with him, his strength is really extraordinary."
Paulinho has left an equally impressive footprint on the Chinese Super League scene. From June 2015 to August 2017 and then July 2018 until June 2021, Paulinho played twice for Guangzhou, accumulating 176 games for the team, scoring 75 goals, contributing 29 assists, and helping the team win the AFC Champions League, the CSL Championship four times, the FA Cup once, and the Super Cup twice.
