Guangzhou Evergrande manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has issued a stern hands off to Barcelona over their apparent interest in midfielder Paulinho. The ex-Spurs and Corinthians man has reinvented himself in China and become part of the Brazilian national team again.
He scored a hat trick against Uruguay in Montevideo in March, which sparked interest in the midfielder. Paulinho is playing under his ex-Seleção coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at Ghangzhou and Felipão was in defiant mood when questioned about Barcelona’s interest.
“Paulinho is not going to move from Guangzhou Evergrande and, for those who do not know it, he has a €40m release clause. At this moment it is not easy for any Chinese team to let an important player go because it is difficult and very expensive to sign a replacement due to new tax rates.
A new 100% tax rate on imported footballers looks set to curb the spending of Chinese clubs on expensive foreign talent. The likes of Oscar, Jon Obi Mikel, Axel Witsel. Carlos Tevez, Hulk and Alexandre Pato are already playing in China.
