José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior, more commonly known as Paulinho, is not likely to join Inter, despite his agent contacting the Nerazzurri recently, according to a report from Italian media outlet FcInterNews.
The report details how Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio was interested in the Brazilian midfielder in 2011 whilst he was playing for Corinthians, but since then the player has never been close to joining Inter again. Whilst Inter are looking for a strong midfielder to strengthen the squad in January, Paulinho is considered too expensive for the Nerazzurri.
The player joined Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande in 2018, joining the club for €42 million from Barcelona, the report highlights. He has a contract that lasts until 2023 with the club with a salary of around €15 million per year, a figure much too high for the Nerazzurri or Tottenham Hotspur, the other club that Paulinho’s agent contacted recently. Therefore it seems he will remain in China, at least for now.
