Name Paulo Santos Salary 500,000 EUR (2012) Years Team Weight 82 kg | Current team None Height 1.88 m Playing position Role Footballer Position Defender | |
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Full name Paulo Afonso Santos Junior Date of birth (1982-05-06) 6 May 1982 (age 33) Number 3 (Real Betis / Defender), 2 (AS Saint-Etienne / Defender) Similar People Pepe Mel, Javier Chica, Gabriel Calderon, Julio Velazquez, Juan Carlos Garrido | ||
Place of birth Lagoa Santa, Brazil | ||
Paulo Afonso Santos Júnior (born 6 May 1982), known as Paulão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Portuguese club S.C. Olhanense.
Football career
Born in Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Paulão started playing with local Clube Atlético Mineiro, moving to neighbouring América Futebol Clube after three seasons. In 2006, he competed with Sociedade Esportiva do Gama in the Série B.
In the 2006 European off-season, Paulão moved to Portugal and signed for Associação Naval 1º de Maio, being an undisputed starter from the beginning and scoring six Primeira Liga goals in his last two years combined. He made his debut in the competition on 10 September 2006, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win against Académica de Coimbra.
For the 2009–10 campaign, Paulão continued in the country and joined S.C. Braga. He only played in seven league games in his first year, but made 34 official appearances in the following for the Minho club (three goals), including seven in its runner-up run in the UEFA Europa League.
In the 2011 summer, Paulão signed with AS Saint-Étienne in France on a free transfer. In the following transfer window, however, he joined Real Betis on loan.
Paulão netted two times in 22 matches in his first full season in La Liga, helping the Andalusians finish seventh and qualify for the Europa League. On 20 April 2014, just 30 minutes into an away fixture against Rayo Vallecano, he asked to be substituted after making two mistakes – this included an own goal – that cost Betis two goals in a 1–3 defeat that made their relegation almost certain, which eventually happened.