Barcelona target Paulinho hoping to complete move by the end of the week

Paulinho has reiterated his desire to leave Guangzhou Evergrande for Barcelona and hopes to complete a move to the Camp Nou by the end of this week, providing negotiations between the two clubs run smoothly.

The Brazilian midfielder emerged as a surprise target for the Spanish giants earlier this summer and revealed that his agent received an offer from Ernesto Valverde's side, but Guangzhou are reluctant to part with the former Tottenham Hotspur star during the middle of the Chinese season.

But Paulinho is understandably keen to push through a move to Barcelona and has instructed his agent to speed up the deal between the Blaugrana and Guangzhou in order for his current club to be able to draft in a replacement before the Chinese transfer window, which closes on 14 July.

Evergrande chairman Xu Jiayin said recently that Paulinho will not be allowed to join Barcelona until the end of the season in China and has no interest in parting with a vital component of Luiz Felipe Scolari's side, but the 41-time Brazil international is intent on forcing through a move to Catalonia.

"I have to speak with the [Guangzhou Evergrande] president," Paulinho told El Mundo Deportivo, relayed by talkSPORT. "But since I received the offer from Barcelona I've not stopped thinking about it and I hope things can be resolved this week.

"I asked my agent to speed everything up so that it can all be resolved this week because the transfer window shuts soon. That doesn't affect me leaving, but it would prevent Guangzhou signing a replacement."

Paulinho is paid handsomely at Evergrande, so his desire to move to Barcelona is certainly not financially driven. The 28-year-old was keen to stress that point and revealed he has previously rejected more lucrative offers in order to do what is best for his career.

"If the two clubs reach an agreement, everything between me and Barcelona will be very easy," he added. "When I was at Corinthians I turned down an offer to move to Russia worth 10 times what I was earning in Brazil – it's not about money."