Having previously spent ten seasons at BK Häcken in the Swedish Allsvenskan, Paulinho is the club's all-time leading scorer with 113 goals in all competitions.

[3] He played 19 games for the club throughout the season, scoring four goals, but left for his native Brazil at the end of the year for personal reasons.

[13][14] At the end of 2019, Paulinho left BK Häcken and signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Premier League.

[16] In a debut season plagued by injuries, Paulinho scored just three goals in 16 league games for his side, as Hammarby disappointedly finished in eight place in Allsvenskan.

[18][19] On 30 May 2021, Paulinho won the 2020–21 Svenska Cupen, the main domestic cup, with Hammarby through a 5–4 win on penalties (0–0 after full-time) against his former club BK Häcken in the final, where he scored his attempt.

[20][21] After recovering from an injury, Paulinho featured in the second leg as the club was knocked out in the play-off round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by Basel (4–4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out, in which he missed his attempt.