Paulo Marcos de Jesus Ribeiro (born 25 February 1986), commonly known as Paulão, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central defender. Club career Early career In January 2008, Paulão was signed by Itapirense in 2-year contract. He was infamously cautioned 8 times and suspended twice in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3. In June 2008 he was signed by Universal Futebol Clube and immediately loaned to ASA for the 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C. Paulão remained in ASA in 2009 season, winning the Campeonato Alagoano. His team also finished as the runner-up of 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C in 2009. Grêmio Prudente On 21 September 2009 he was loaned to Grêmio Barueri during the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He made his Campeonato Brasileiro Série A debut on 6 December 2009. In January 2010, Barueri relocated to Presidente Prudente and bought Paulão from Universal. He became a regular starter of the team, made 16 starts in the 2010 Campeonato Paulista, finished as the semi-finalists. He also played 6 times in the 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, and was sent off in the opening game. He extended his contract in June. Grêmio On 29 August 2010 he left for fellow top division team Grêmio de Porto Alegre in one-year loan. Paulão made his club debut on 11 September 2010, winning Corinthians 1–0. Since then he made 13 starts for Grêmio, made a total of 20 appearances in 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for Grêmio and Grêmio Prudente. In 2011 season, Paulão played 6 out of possible 10 games of 2011 Campeonato Gaúcho, reached semi-final of the first stage, the Piratini Cup. He left the club before the final. He was the starting centre-back in the 2011 Copa Libertadores. Guangzhou Evergrande On 2 March 2011, Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande announced that they had signed Paulão on a four-year deal with a fee of US$3.5 million. It was reported that Grêmio Prudente and Grêmio would divided the transfer fee in fifty-fifty. Paulão made his CSL debut for Guangzhou against Dalian Shide on 2 April 2011. He made 28 appearances in the 2011 league season as Guangzhou Evergrande successfully achieved Super League champion for the first time in the club's history. Return to Brazil On 6 January 2013, Paulão was loaned to Cruzeiro for one year. On 2 January 2014, Internacional announced that they would sign Paulão on a three-year contract.