Remember the 2013 Confederations Cup? Brazil looked like world beaters ahead of the next year's World Cup and Corinthians midfielder Paulinho looked like he was ready to become one of the best central midfielders in the world.
A move to Europe was a certainty, it was just a matter of where he'd go. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea? No, Spurs won the race for the now 26 year old and it was a move that definitely made people sit up and take notice. Bale may have been moved on but Spurs now had a 'world class' goalscoring midfielder who could really take up some of the slack.
It hasn't quite worked out like that. Confirmation has come today that Spurs have robbed Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande by accepting a bid in the region of £15 million pounds for a player who's only managed 6 Premier League goals in two years.
Spurs fans may be absolutely delighted at the news but one man who won't be is Jamie Carragher who made a rather ill-advised bet with fellow punditry messiah Gary Neville.
Twitter @Carra23 needs to wear a G.Nev united shirt for the day! He's lost a bet that Paulinho wouldn't score 15 PL goals in a season!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) June 26, 2015
Ouch. To be fair to Carragher it looked like a good bet back in 2013. It looks horrific now.
@GNev2 Send me one I don't want to take the framed one down off the bedroom wall. 15 in the season not just prem!
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) June 26, 2015
Fair enough, that sounds more reasonable but he still only managed ten goals in all competitions over the past two seasons. We'll look forward to that MNF show next season.
