Manchester City have reportedly missed out on signing Paulinho, from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.
Pep Guardiola’s interest in the youngster had been claimed a couple of times in Brazil, with the likes of Yahoo and Globo Esporte reporting it.
But according to ESPN Brasil today, the player is moving to Germany instead. He should be joining Bayer Leverkusen in a €30m deal.
The report claims Paulinho’s family has been ‘celebrating’ it with close friends, even though the deal is still to be made official. The player is set to move once he turns 18 in June.
This is just another case of a Brazilian wonderkid leaving Brazil for over €30m. Gabriel Jesus was only 19 when moving from Palmeiras to Manchester City for €32m, and Flamengo recently sold Vinicius Junior at the age of 16 to Real Madrid for €45m.
It seems European giants are no longer afraid of spending big in Brazil.
After all, it can be a way of hitting the jackpot.
