Paulinho has today admitted that he is struggling to shake the feeling that his failed attempt at keepy-uppies during his Barcelona unveiling will end up being the high point of his career at the club.
The Brazilian joined the Spanish giants from Guangzhou Evergrande last week, after the Chinese Super League winners accepted a bid believed to be around €40 million.
The signing of the midfielder, who was subsequently mocked for trying to execute a number of keepy-uppies during his presentation at the Camp Nou, has been greeted in underwhelming fashion by the club's windows.
However, rather than feeling despondent over his public humiliation, the ex-Spurs man has admitted to colleagues that he feels his time at the club may already have peaked.
"Everyone keeps telling me that I should forget about the keepy-uppies and just concentrate on playing well here. But honestly, I feel like that moment was likely to be my best ever in a Barcelona jersey," said Paulinho to a number of teammates earlier.
https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/898616990109024256
"I mean, I had people there watching me and cheering just for me - that's definitely not going to happen again - and everyone was talking about it. After this all I can foresee is people either forgetting I'm still here or getting angry about how much I cost.
"It's all going to be downhill from here, I just know it. And in 40 years when I'm looking back on my career, that is going to be the moment everyone has photographed and remembers. That's what I'll have to show my grandchildren. It's depressing just to think about it."
Despite his insecurity, Paulinho's teammates are said to have attempted to cheer him up by insisting that he's likely to do significantly more bad things before his time at the club comes to an end.
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