Paulinho.Buda Mendes / Getty Images
Barcelona unveiled its €40 million (£36 million) signing Paulinho on Thursday but the player became the butt of Twitter jokes after committing a football faux pas.
Former Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder Paulinho joined Barça in a €40 million deal on August 14.
He passed his medical examinations on Thursday and was then introduced to the fans and the media at the club’s Camp Nou stadium.
As part of the ceremony, Paulinho was tasked with playing keep-up — the act of juggling the ball in the air using your feet, knees, or head. But the player failed to put together four touches.
Paulinho even hung his head in shame as he walked after the football having lost possession on his third kick. You can watch the footage right here:
Paulinho showing what €40 Million buys you in this market pic.twitter.com/T9VyN1wXlX
— Daniel (@Cruyffd) August 17, 2017
The post was accompanied by the caption “Paulinho showing what €40 million buys you in this market,” a nod to the huge transfer fees European clubs have been shelling out this summer, not least the £198 million Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar Jr.
Twitter reaction to Paulinho’s fail was understandably savage.
Paulinho is a Brazilian but can’t juggle a ball 😂
— Robert Cazorla (@CazorlaRoba) August 17, 2017
You would expect an elite footballer to have good enough ball skills/co-ordination to manage a better show than the Paulinho vid.
— AMTgooner (@AMTgooner) August 17, 2017
Are Barcelona buying Paulinho just so they can keep shirt sales up in Brazil?
— James Ash 🏏 (@jamesash89) August 14, 2017
Paulinho joined Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015 after an unsuccessful period at Tottenham Hotspur.
He left China with two Chinese Super League titles, as well as the AFC Champions League (the Asian equivalent of the UEFA Champions League).
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
