Paulinho has agreed to join his former club, Guangzhou Evergrande, in the Chinese Super League after spending less than a year in La Liga.
Football news: Paulinho had joined Barcelona last year from Chinese Super League
The deal has been finalised and it is stated that the midfielder will re-join Guangzhou on a six-month loan and would be ready for a compulsory purchase option from 31 December.
The midfielder had arrived at the Camp Nou last summer, after the sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, and was a surprise arrival.
Although he made a bright start for the Catalans but slowly his form dipped later, but was a key piece of the team that won the domestic double in the session 2017-18.
The Brazilian made a total of 49 appearances for the Catalans, in which he managed to find the net 9 times and assisted 3 times in all competitions.
Barcelona were finding it difficult to accommodate a host of non-European Union players, and as a result Paulinho was released back to Guangzhou.
The Chinese club posted a picture of the 29-year-old Brazilian, who was also part of his country’s World Cup squad in Russia, on their official website along with the caption, “Welcome back”.
Barcelona also confirmed the news of the transfer by wishing Paulinho “the best of luck” for his future on their official twitter handle.
The Brazilian spent almost three years with Guangzhou, and has played almost 100 games for the club and has helped the club to win back-to-back CSL titles.
With Paulinho’s exit from Barcelona, it has now opened a spot for his compatriot Arthur to join the Blaugrana side from Gremio this summer.
The future of Colombia player Yerry Mina also seems uncertain at Camp Nou as there has been a rise in interest for the central defender from Everton.