Wednesday, 3rd July, 2013
Tottenham Hotspur’s new recruit Paulinho admits there was a time when a Russian club had been waving their chequebook at him, but insisted his sporting desires had the final say.
Paulinho was yesterday revealed to have secured a move to Spurs from Brazilian giants Corinthians, just days after helping Brazil win their third-straight Confederations Cup title.
He had suitors in the shape of Real Madrid and Chelsea, while he today exposed the Russian connection in his transfer saga.
"Yes, there was a proposal from Russia", he was quoted by Championat as saying. "I had the opportunity to earn a lot of money, much more than I did at Corinthians.
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"But I refused because I was close to the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. I spent two-and-a-half years playing in Lithuania (FC Vilnius) and Poland (LKS Lodz).
"I think that Russia would have been less noticeable for the national team coaches. I have to first think about my career and not about the money."
While he has not revealed the identity of that Russian club, the usual suspects in the form of Anzhi Makhachkala and CSKA Moscow do rear their heads.
Anzhi, in particular, have been their usual prolific selves in the transfer market, having made enquiries for the in-demand Henrik Mkhitaryan, who is also being courted by Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund.
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