“Paulinho is like Lampard, but black”

Boca Juniors’ legendary playmaker, who also played for Barcelona, compared Paulinho with English midfielder Frank Lampard, who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time for both Chelsea and for his national side.

“Paulinho is like Frank Lampard, but black. On top of that, he can score with his head as well. He can play badly in a game and still score a goal. Lampard is the same at Chelsea,” said Riquelme when his Boca Juniors side met Corinthians in the 2013 Copa Libertadores.

It has to be taken with a pinch of salt, given that Lampard is the fifth highest Premier League goalscorer of all time, but nevertheless Paulinho is a very similar player to “Super Frank”. He is a midfielder with physical and technical abilities and he often surprises defenders by arriving late into the box. The “Black Lamprd”, as Riquelme said, came to Barca to stay.