Renato Paiva, former coach of Toluca, told the Mexican version of the newspaper AS the behind-the-scenes of Paulinho’s signing for the emblem of that Central American country, a bet that began with internal distrust, but that would go on to become one of the biggest recent successes in Mexican football.
At the time, champion of the Portuguese I League with Sporting, in 2023/24, Paulinho was a little-known name in the Mexican market. Today, he is a three-time scoring champion in the Mexican League, an absolute idol at Toluca and a central figure in winning the Apertura, the Clausura, two-time championship, the Campeón de Campeones and the Concacaf Campeones Cup.
“It’s a very beautiful, very curious story”, the Portuguese coach begins by explaining. “I was at home when Paulinho’s manager called me to ask if I needed a striker. We already had another one practically closed, but I asked him to tell me his name. When he said ‘Paulinho, from Sporting’, I was surprised.”
The initial reaction within the club, however, was negative. According to Renato Paiva, those responsible for Toluca raised several reservations: the player’s age, his adaptation to Mexican football and the fact that he had never played outside of Europe.
“Their first reaction was to say no. They were afraid of a European adapting to the League”, he revealed. A joint strategy was then outlined with Víctor Palacios, chief scout of the club, to convince the sports management, led by Santiago San Román and Sinha.
Convinced of his diagnosis, Paiva decided to speak directly to the player. “I picked up the phone and called Paulinho. I didn’t even know he was in Cancún on vacation”he said, admitting that the amount involved in the transfer caused apprehension: “For his age, it was an amount that scared anyone who was buying and because Sporting knew the quality of their player.”
The decisive moment came at a last meeting. “They said to me ‘it’s your decision, are you 100% sure you’re the right player?’ And I said ‘I’m not 100, I’m 200% sure’.”
Time proved him right. Paulinho quickly established himself at Toluca and increased his performance even further with the arrival of Antonio Mohamed. In addition to his three top scorer titles, he was decisive in final stages – including a goal in the Apertura 2025 final against Tigres – and renewed his contract until 2028.
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