"It's always nice to have fans close to us," says the forward

Rochinha and Paulinho took part in an autograph session at Suits Inc, sponsor of Sporting Clube de Portugal, on Monday afternoon. The pair had the opportunity to meet Sportinguistas after training.

“It is always good to have the fans close to us and also to realise how much they love the club. This is even more important when we aren't in the position where we want to be in the league," said Paulinho to journalists after the signing session, saying: “I feel a lot of affection at Sporting CP."

“We have to work hard and run a lot. That has to be present in every game and, as we have seen in the last few, when we do that, we will also have a moment to wear one of these suits for a celebration."

Asked about the pause in domestic action for the World Cup, Paulinho commented that “This break is a novelty because it's the first time it's happened, but it could be good because we have more time to train. We had been growing, but we are going to take advantage of this break to improve and continue to grow."

“We are working hard. There's no Liga Portugal games, but we have the Taça da Liga and we have to win. It's strange that we're not all here and there's a competition like the World Cup going on, but we have to continue with our work."

The striker has two goals and three assists in 2022/2023, and assessed what he is lacking this term.

“I feel that I can improve, but above all I hope the season will get better for Sporting CP. That's what I'm focused on; I don't care about the individual aspect, and neither do my teammates. We know that we are better as players when the team are doing better, and we also know that Sporting CP have to do well. Individual accolades are an extra."

Capped by Portugal, Paulinho was in national team coach Fernando Santos's initial shortlist for the World Cup but ended up being left out of the squad.

“We would all like to be there, but the important thing now is that we are all supporting the team. Will I give my all to play in the European Championships? I have to go all-in in the next game for Sporting CP. It will be my work here that will give me the opportunity to go or not."