Paulinho ends Tottenham Hotspur misery and signs for Guangzhou Evergrande

Guangzhou Evergrande have confirmed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Paulinho from Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year deal.

The reigning Chinese Super League champions have paid a fee of £9.9m ($15.8m) to bring the 26-year-old to the Far East just two years after his arrival in north London.

The move was confirmed via Guangzhou's official website.

He becomes the first major departure from Mauricio Pochettino's side this summer.

A short statement read: "Guangzhou Hengda Football Club officially announce from Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur that midfielder, Brazilian player Paulinho, was formally signed, for the transfer fee of 14 million euros, for four years."

Paulinho briefly broke Tottenham's record transfer fee in 2013 when the club paid Corinthians a reported £17m to bring the player to White Hart Lane.

The Brazilian enjoyed a bright start to life in the Premier League and featured regularly under Andre Villas-Boas until the Portuguese coach was dismissed in December 2013. Under his replacement Tim Sherwood and current boss Mauricio Pochettino, however, he struggled to hold down a first team role, with the youthful midfield pairing of Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason keeping him out of the team last season.

Paulinho, who has been capped 32 times for his country will link up with his former international coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at Guangzhou.

Speaking to Brazilian publication Lancenet Paulinho recently revealed he would consider a return to Corinthians but would not rule out a stay in Europe.

"I received concrete offers that I will talk to my agent [about]. I am sure that by the date of my return to England [2 July] I'll decide my future," Paulinho said, as translated by Tutto Mercato Web.

"A stay at Tottenham? It Depends on what I will be proposed. If there will be some better option will change the team."

"The Corinthians? I've always admitted that the Timao would be my first choice, but I am a professional and I have to consider each hypothesis. I never said that I would never play for another team."