Barcelona news: Riquelme compares Paulinho to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard

Former Argentina talisman Juan Roman Riquelme won't be surprised by the midfielder's rise. He compared Paulinho to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard back in 2013!

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Barca coughed up £35million to sign Paulinho from Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League.

And more questions were asked when the 29-year-old failed to manage more than just a few kick-ups during his Nou Camp unveiling.

But with the Catalan club sitting pretty at the top of La Liga with a 100 per cent record, Paulinho has had a big impact in his brief time at the club.

"Paulinho is similar [in style] to Frank Lampard, with the difference being that he's black," Riquelme said when his Boca Juniors side met Corinthians in the 2013 Copa Libertadores.

"He can scored headed goals too.

"He can have a bad game, and still score against you.

"Chelsea's Lampard is the same."

Paulinho's two goals for Barcelona have taken him to a career total of 101 so far - not a bad tally for someone who couldn’t hack it in the Premier League.

But he still has a long way to go to catch Lampard, who bagged an awesome 274 goals throughout his career.

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde has been full of praise for his signing, particularly since their 6-1 win over Eibar which saw Lionel Messi score four times.

“[Paulinho] adds something different, something we didn't have in the squad with the other players," Valverde said.

"He makes those runs into the area, he's [a threat] from set plays.

“At the beginning, he was a little lost, but he's been getting up to speed. 

“Other players have more positional play; he's strength, breaking the lines, set plays. 

“The goal[s] have helped him settle."