Barcelona told to match €40m release clause for midfield target

Chinese Super League giants Guangzhou Evergrande have told Barcelona they will need to match Paulinho’s €40m (£35.1m) release clause in order to land the midfielder, according to Catalan-based outlet Sport, via Football Espana.

Barcelona have already had a €25m (£21.9m) bid rejected for the former Tottenham midfielder and Guangzhou have no interest in losing their star man unless Ernesto Valverde’s side match the 28-year-old’s buy-out clause.

Paulinho has spent the last two years with Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side after enduring a disastrous two-year stint with Tottenham in the Premier League where he was labelled one of the worst buys in recent history.

However, his stint in England has not knocked his reputation as Barcelona have emerged as shock suitors for the Brazil international. Barcelona had earmarked Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti as their top transfert target this summer but appear to be facing a losing battle in their pursuit of the Italy international despite the fact he wants to join them. 

In the last two Chinese Super League campaigns Paulinho has won possession in the midfield third more times than any other player (215).

For more stats on Paulinho, click here to visit his WhoScored player pa