Top 10 best players in the Chinese Super League

#1 Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao)

Urawa Red Diamonds v Guangzhou Evergrande - AFC Champions League Group H

In a strange string of events, Paulinho joined Guangzhou Evergrande from Spurs in 2015; two years later, he would sign for Barcelona for around £36m; then, he was loaned back to Guangzhou Evergrande for a season, before he eventually signed back permanently with them for £37m in January 2019.

Many rumours were swirling about why Paulinho went back to the Chinese Super League, but the main theory revolves around his lack of fitness. He apparently got so used to the laid back style of play in China that when it came time to show up in La Liga, he was simply outclassed.

This may be due to his age, as he's now 30 years old, but in the Chinese Super League, he is a cut above everybody else, even the up-and-coming youngsters like Talisca. He is against easy opposition, therefore can do whatever he likes in the midfield, without the worry of any real challenge.

On top of this, Paulinho still sporadically plays for Brazil, which indicates that he's still got the ability to show up in big matches, just perhaps not as regularly as he used to.