Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder Paulinho hopes to join Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona in this summer.
Barcelona saw a €20m bid turned down for the Brazilian international earlier this week, requiring double that amount to meet his buyout clause.
However, the 28-year-old ex-Tottenham Hotspur ace remains optimistic over his future and is targeting a move to Camp Nou ahead of the opening 2017/18 season.
“I’m not a hypocrite and I’m a transparent person. I think about Barcelona,” he told Brazilian publication Band.
“The clause in my contract is €40m and I believe Barca offered €20m and that Guangzhou rejected the offer. My agent told me there are new conversations.
“The majority of players don’t ever speak until something happens but I can confirm that the interest is real,” he added.
“What I know is that there’s a formal offer and the president of Barcelona spoke with the directors, although there wasn’t an agreement. It’s possible that I will play at Barcelona among a number of star players.
“”I could become part of a club full of stars. There will still be conversations. There’s the possibility that there will be an agreement between the clubs and if that’s what I want, it will happen.”
Paulinho has won two Chinese Super League titles and an AFC Champions League trophy since joining Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015.