I don't think anyone can be this inept on purpose, I'm not one for conspiracy theories but come on.
40m for paulinho
40m for adra who is didn't take a smart person to see wasn't a good fit
30m for Paco
50m for Gomes.
160m euros that could have gotten us so much more.
Paulinho is far worse than either of those.
Arda was a key player at Atletico and one of the best midfielders in La Liga.
Paco was Spain's goalscorer in Euro preliminaries, the best player from Valencia arguably, and a young no9 with good qualities. And he was willing to be a sub, unlike Vietto or Gameiro.
Gomes was highly rated by both Barca and Madrid, and was also rumored to be close to a transfer to Juventus.
All of those transfers had several things going for them. All of those were proven players from La Liga, among the best at their teams.
Paulinho's doesn't. This is a deal that looked bad as soon as we were linked with him.