Former Argentina talisman Juan Roman Riquelme won't be surprised by the midfielder's rise. He compared Paulinho to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard back in 2013!

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Barca coughed up £35million to sign Paulinho from Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League.

And more questions were asked when the 29-year-old failed to manage more than just a few kick-ups during his Nou Camp unveiling.

But with the Catalan club sitting pretty at the top of La Liga with a 100 per cent record, Paulinho has had a big impact in his brief time at the club.

"Paulinho is similar [in style] to Frank Lampard, with the difference being that he's black," Riquelme said when his Boca Juniors side met Corinthians in the 2013 Copa Libertadores.