Luiz Felipe Scolari confirms Paulinho's transfer to Barcelona

An English-style midfielder is heading to the Camp Nou.

Speaking after Guangzhou Evergrande beat Henan Jianye 2-1 in the Chinese Super League on Sunday, Luiz Felipe Scolari confirmed Barcelona paid to sign Paulinho and wished the Brazilian midfielder "all the best." According to Mundo Deportivo, the footballer is flying to the United Kingdom and will arrive in Spain on Monday. He will reportedly complete a transfer valued at about €40 million and put pen to paper on a four-year contract.

"Paulinho is a player with high individual quality, he is an outstanding player," Scolari said, per ESPN FC's Michael Church. "The high price paid by Barcelona in order to sign him is a strong recognition of Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club. We wish him all the best and that he can embrace a bright future."

Scolari declared: "Losing Paulinho is a loss from Evergrande, but it is a good thing for Chinese football. It proves that the world's leading clubs are paying attention to the Chinese Super League.

Scolari and Paulinho are two of the faces from Brazil's embarrassing defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup. They fled to Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015, and, under the Brazilian manager, the player resurrected his career and returned to the Selecao's squad for 2018 World Cup qualifying. It seemed like a shocking decision by Tite at the time, but few are questioning his judgment after Paulinho's hat-trick in the national team's 4-1 win away to Uruguay.

In July, Paulinho admitted to contact between his agent and Barcelona, stating "it's difficult to decide" and "there are many things I need to weigh."

Barcelona's signing of Paulinho will mark the Blaugrana's first in the summer transfer window following Neymar's extraordinary €222-million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.