Brazilian midfielder Paulinho has returned to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande on a season-long loan.

Paulinho, 29, had joined Spanish champions Barcelona from Guangzhou Evergrande in a €40m deal last summer and has rejoined the club on loan with an option to make the transfer permanent.

His loan move was confirmed by the Chinese club on Sunday afternoon.

He scored 9 goals in 34 appearances for Barcelona as he helped the Catalan giants reclaim the Spanish La Liga title from arch rivals Real Madrid.

Paulinho first moved to Europe in 2013 when he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Corinthians in a £17m deal.

He spent two years at White Hart Lane before moving to Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015 where he made 63 league appearances over a two-year period before joining Barcelona last summer.

A mainstay of the Brazilian squad, Paulinho started all five games for the Selecao but was unable to prevent the quarterfinal defeat to Belgium at the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia.