Barcelona makes shocking bid for paulinho

Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao midfielder Paulinho remains confident about the prospect of joining Barcelona in the transfer window. The 28-year-old Brazil international was the subject of a bid from the Catalans that was rejected by the Chinese Super League club.
Paulinho has claimed that Barca's initial offer was €20 million, which is half of the release clause included in his contract, but he believes they could yet return with a new bid that could eventually see him move to Spain. He told Brazil's Band: "I'm not a hypocrite and I'm a transparent person. I think about Barca. The clause in my contract is €40m and I believe Barca offered €20m and that Guangzhou rejected the offer. "My agent told me there are new conversations. The majority of players don't ever speak until something happens but I can confirm that the interest is real. "What I know is that there's a formal offer and the president of Barcelona spoke with the directors, although there wasn't an agreement. "It's possible that I will play at Barcelona among a number of star players. I could become part of a club full of stars. "There will still be conversations. There's the possibility that there will be an agreement between the clubs and if that's what I want, it will happen."  Paulinho has scored 10 goals in 23 games for Guangzhou in all competitions this season and is contracted to them until June 2020, But a deal this week is hopeful.