Barcelona Has earned the Camp Nou's respect

Playing for Barcelona and having the Camp Nou cheer you on when you take to the field isn't something you get to enjoy every day, and yet that is the feeling that midfielder Paulinho enjoyed during Saturday's victory over Malaga.

He entered from the bench in order to allow Sergio Busquets some rest and experienced what his friend and international teammate Neymar enjoyed many times as a Blaugrana player: the affection of the Catalan faithful.

There is no scientific formula to guarantee this kind of favour from the terraces in football.

In fact, in the case of Paulinho, it is particularly notable as he was a player who arrived at the club during the summer from Guangzhou Evergrande amid much criticism.

That was down to the price paid for his signature, his age, and the suspicion that Barcelona had forked out for a player whose ability wouldn't suit their style.

At times, his signing became something bigger than a simple summer arrival and he was almost used as a stick with which to beat Josep Maria Bartomeu for his leadership along with Robert Fernandez.

Jokes were made and some within the media even published claims that those in the dressing room had commented that the former Tottenham man's ability was below that of even Douglas when he had played for Barcelona.

Two months later, there aren't many vocal critics left and fans have a special place in their hearts for Paulinho, perhaps an acknowledgement that they were unfair to him at first.

Ernesto Valverde was one of the biggest supporters of the midfielder's signing and pushed for the club to get him, while always defending Paulinho publicly and endorsing that confidence with paying time.

When he doesn't start, the midfielder is one of the substitutes who regularly appears from the bench and it is also interesting to note that Paulinho is the team's third top scorer, tied with Denis Suarez and behind only Lionel Messi (15) and Luis Suarez (three).