Pauleta was one of Portugal’s most reliable strikers around the turn of the millennium, a compact, sharp-finishing centre-forward who made his name in France. After prolific spells with Bordeaux and, before that, Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, he became a talismanic scorer for Paris Saint-Germain, ranking among the club’s leading marksmen.
For the national team he was a dependable presence through major tournaments, a poacher whose movement and finishing rarely let Portugal down during a golden period for its forward line.