PICTURE: Tottenham Hotspur signing in tears saying goodbye to Corinthians

At a press conference with Corinthians’ director of football, Roberto de Andrade, Paulinho broke down in to tears when confirming that he would be leaving the Brazilian club.

“It is difficult to talk at a moment like this,” he said. “But these were three wonderful years in my career, with achievements, and working with the right people, who always helped me. Pretty soon I’ll be back. Thank you for everything that you did for me.”

Corinthians are due to play Sao Paulo later this month in the Recopa Sudamericana but Paulinho has confirmed that he will not feature.

“I will not play in the Cup winners’ Cup because there are contractual requirements of Tottenham which not have to be discussed here,” he added. “It was a decision that we all respect. Of course I had a huge will to win another title, but the transfer has to be completed.”

Paulinho confirmed that Inter Milan were also interested in signing him but Spurs were the only club to put an offer in.

“The other interest we got was of Inter Milan, but the only offer came from Tottenham,” he said. “The proposal came, we sat down, analysed it and decided. It was a big decision to go to a big club. There comes a certain point when you need new challenges.”