Corinthians have admitted Paulinho is set to leave the club soon as Tottenham look to fight off a late bid from Real Madrid for the midfielder's signature.
Paulinho made all the headlines after the Confederations Cup semifinal between Brazil and Uruguay, scoring a late winner, and the 24-year-old is now set to ply his trade in Europe come next season.
Corinthians earlier confirmed Tottenham had agreed to match Paulinho's buyout clause of €20 million (£17 million, $26 million), with the player also admitting he would find it extremely difficult to turn down a move to the English Premier League.
However, Spurs could face some competition from Real Madrid, with newly appointed manager Carlo Ancelotti reportedly planning a move for Paulinho.
One thing is certain, though - Paulinho will leave Corinthians before the start of the new season in Europe.
"Besides the signings we also suffered harassment of the top clubs in the world on some of our key players," a club statement from president Mario Gobbi Filho said.
"We make every effort to keep them, but we have to evaluate the good proposals and understand the goals and aspirations of life of each of our athletes.
"With the imminent departure of Paulinho we trust in football other players that are being prepared for some time, as William and Edenilson, or even the newly hired Ibson."
Paulinho, when asked after the Confederations Cup in over Uruguay, if the winning goal was scored by a Corinthians player or a Spurs one, the midfielder refused to be drawn out into a possibly controversial answer.
"This goal was scored by the Paulinho that plays for Corinthians," he told reporters.
If the signing of Paulinho is completed, it will be seen as a major statement of intent from Spurs ahead of the new Premier League season, as the north London side look to break into the top four, while also trying to hold onto their most important asset Gareth Bale, who is wanted by Real Madrid.
