Guangzhou Evergrande have rejected a new €25m bid for Brazilian midfielder Paulinho from Barcelona.
The Chinese Super League champions are adamant that the 29-year-old will not be sold this summer, despite this third bid that follows Barca’s initial offers of €15m and €20m last month.
Although Paulinho has made Guangzhou Evergrande aware that he is keen to leave, they are fighting to resist the moves from Spain.
“There is no sign of Liu Yongzhuo or [club owner] Xu Jiayin changing their stance. They have no intention of selling a player who is hugely important to the success of this club,” one source said as quoted by Goal China.
Paulinho joined Guangzhou Evergrande from Tottenham in 2015 for €14 million. He helped the team to back-to-back league titles in 2015 and 2016, as well as the 2015 AFC Champions League title.