5 famous Premier League flops who will be playing for the World Cup favourites

#2 Paulinho

Paulinho is one of Brazil's most important players

A move to China often ends the prospects of playing for the national team again but Paulinho used his stint in China to find his magic touch once again.

The Brazilian was one of the standout performers for his country at the 2013 Confederations Cup and Spurs signed him for a then club record fee. His first season with the club saw him play 37 games and score 8 goals but he was rather unconvincing.

The arrival of Mauricio Pochettino in the following season reduced Paulinho’s role in the team and in June 2015, he completed a move to Guangzhou Evergrande. His time in China was quite successful as he played 95 games scoring 28 goals and also won six major honours including the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League (twice).

He was also recalled to the Brazil team during this period and became a crucial member of the team’s midfield under Tite. He scored six goals for Brazil during the FIFA World Cup qualifying phase including a hat-trick against Uruguay in a 4-1 away victory.

In August 2017, he signed for Barcelona much to the surprise of football fans worldwide and his signing was not greeted well by fans of the club especially because the club spent €40 million to sign a 30-year-old!

However, he proved to be a brilliant acquisition for the club as he ended the season with 9 goals and 2 assists in 34 league games while helping the club win the domestic double.

The former Spurs flop will now be starting in the Brazil midfield in Russia as they hope to win their 6th World Cup title.