Barcelona star Paulinho thanks fans for accepting him after arrival of Tottenham flop at Nou Camp was widely mocked

PAULINHO has thanked Barcelona fans for accepting him after the former Spurs man was widely mocked following his shock arrival.

After flopping at Tottenham, the Brazilian scuttled off to China where his career looked to be on the wane in the league where cash rules over quality.

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But Barca splashed £36million on the midfielder in the summer - as the La Liga side tried to replace Neymar – but even that was not well received.

Only 2000 fans turned up to see Paulinho’s arrival at the Nou Camp – whereas 56,500 packed in for Neymar’s arrival in 2013.

The 5-1 aggregate loss to bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super was a disaster.

But Barca have raced to the top of the table, with Paulinho scoring twice, with a goal difference of +15 from five games.

And the 29-year-old is grateful for the Catalonians for giving him a chance to win them over.

He said: “I am very grateful for how I have been welcomed at Barcelona.

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“Playing with great players makes me happy and they have been good in helping me adapt.

"I am happy with the affection everyone is showing me but the only way to respond to that is by playing well and helping my teammates in order to reach our objectives.”

Lionel Messi scored four in the club’s most recent win over Eibar, his second hat-trick and 12^th goal of the season already.

And Paulinho is in no doubt about the rankings sit with the likes Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Neymar.

He said: "It is special to play alongside the best footballer in the world.”

Paulinho's second league goal in just five opening games for the club was a milestone some of his illustrious predecessors failed to meet.

Luis Suarez and Messi did not score even in their first five matches and Neymar only fired in once.

The summer transfer window was one the craziest we have ever seen.

Take a look at the most profitable transfers of ALL time.

And here are the Premier League players whose wages made them the most expensive per minute played.