5 Of the most famous players to move to the Chinese Super League

#4 Paulinho

Paulinho's form at Guangzhou Evergrande earned him a move to Barcelona

Brazilian midfielder Paulinho joined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013 for what was then a club-record fee of £17m, but despite some bright moments, his debut season saw him struggle to fit into the Premier League. By the end of 2014-15, he was widely considered a big-money flop in North London, and so it came as no surprise when Spurs were willing to part company with him.

The destination, however, was somewhat surprising; Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande paid Spurs a fee of just under £10m for his services, and he moved to the club and linked up with his former international boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. An even bigger shock though was Paulinho’s fantastic form during his time in the Far East.

The Brazilian became one of Guangzhou’s most important players and helped them to win five trophies during his time there – picking up 2 Chinese Super League titles, a Chinese FA Cup, 2 Chinese FA Super Cups and an AFC Champions League title, too.

He was so good, in fact, that Barcelona stunned the world by paying Guangzhou €40m to bring him to the Nou Camp in the summer of 2017. And to complete his turnaround from his Tottenham days, Paulinho became one of Barca’s key men too and won a domestic double in his lone season in Spain – before moving back to Guangzhou a year later, where he still currently plays.