Paulinho

Career
Paulinho worked his way through Brazilian side Vasco de Gama's youth system. He gained his pro contract in the 2017 season where he played 18 games, scoring 3. At the end of the season, a £20 Million offer came in from Bayern Leverkusen. This was accepted and he joined the German side for the 18/19 season. He was introduced into the first team straight away playing 37 games over his first 3 seasons there. The 21/22 season saw him gain some more experience at Championship side Stoke City. He performed very well, scoring 12 in 34 over that year, helped the club to Wembley in the FA Cup final where they unfortunately lost out to Manchester City. This good season saw him become a key player for Bayer 04 for the next 4 seasons where he played 118 games, scoring a very impressive 64 from the left hand side of midfield. Over this time, it saw the club win the Bundesliga in all 4 seasons with him gaining the footballer of the year award in the league for the 25/26 season. His last season only saw him play 9 games as he was looking for a move away for a greater challenge. This was not before helping the side win the German SuperCup. That January a £12 Million offer came in from Italian side Fiorentina, where he stayed for 2 and a half years, playing 64 (scoring 19) over this time. He helped the team to the Italian Cup final where they ended up loosing to Roma in the 28/29 season. At the start of the 29/30 season, a £7.75 bid came in from German side Hoffenheim, which the Italian side accepted. He managed to pick up his prolific scoring form in his first season back in the Bundesliga, scoring 25 goals over 46 games. The next two seasons saw him again play well, playing 62 games and scoring 27 (assisting 9) over the 30/31 & 31/32 campaigns. For an unknown reason (suspected because of him now being over 30 and his wage being high), Hoffenheim decided not to renew his contract for the following year. Gateshead manager Ireland decided to sign the winger on a bosman deal. He became a mostly bench player, but still managed to score and assist 4 in 36 appearances. This helped the side to Super Cup and eventually the Premiership Trophy that season. He signed a contract extension for the 33/34 season, but he did not play as much as the previous year. He still managed to score and assist twice in only 18 games that year. He was not in the squad for the Champions League victory that season and after Ireland announced his retirement, he handed in a transfer request to finish his career elsewhere.