Barcelona unveil Paulinho, lose Suarez to injury

Barcelona have signed Brazil midfielder Paulinho from Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande

Barcelona have signed Brazil midfielder Paulinho from Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande for 40m euro (£36.4m).

The former Tottenham player, 29, is the Spanish club’s first signing since Neymar left to join Paris St-Germain in a world record transfer.

Meanwhile, Barca’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez will be out for “four to five weeks” after he was injured in the Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid.

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He will also miss World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Paraguay.

Welcome Paulinho! Good luck and all the best. Your team mates await you. pic.twitter.com/A24iV31qHW

— Josep Maria Bartomeu (@jmbartomeu) August 17, 2017

Paulinho joined Tottenham for £17m from Corinthians in 2013, before moving to China in 2015.

He helped Evergrande win last season’s Chinese Super League and leaves the team top of the table in the current campaign.

Paulinho said: “You have to face challenges with courage. I will try to do my job and I am prepared. It’s a very satisfying moment. The dream I have been looking for has come true. I will give everything.”

On Twitter, Barcelona club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu congratulated Paulinho and wished him best of luck. “Welcome Paulinho! Good luck and all the best. Your team mates await you.”

Barcelona are also keen on Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele

Born José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior, Paulinho began his playing career with Pão de Açúcar, joining the youth squad in 2004.

After failing to break through into the first team, he joined Lithuanian side FC Vilnius in 2006.

He played well for the club during his two seasons in Lithuania, scoring five goals from 38 domestic appearances, but at the end of the 2007 LFF Lyga campaign, FC Vilnius were relegated to the second division.

He left the club where he moved to Poland, signing for Ekstraklasa side ŁKS Łódź.

Following one season in Poland where Paulinho made 17 league appearances, he returned to Brazil and his first club Pão de Açúcar in the summer of 2008.

After a single successful season, Paulinho was on the move again, joining Série B side Bragantino in 2009.