The 25-year-old player will travel to Belo Horizonte next week to receive routine medical exams and to sign his contract that will extend through the 2009 season.

Paulista was also sought after by Gremio, but Cruzeiro proved quicker to act and determined to receive Botafogo's leading scorer of 2008, with 14 goals.

According to Cruzeiro's head of communications, Guilherme Mendes, Paulista is expected to arrive next Monday. He will arrive at the team's headquarters, undergo a physical and sign his contract.

Mendes added that 50 percent of the player's rights will be purchased by Cruzeiro. Until Paulista arrives at Cruzeiro, the terms and length of the contract will not be defined. However, the team has demonstrated a serious interest in keeping the player at Cruzeiro for a long period of time.

Paulista is the team's second addition for the 2009 season. The only other player headed to Belo Horizonte is Soares. Soares too plays forward. He played for Gremio during the Brazilian soccer championship.

Cruzeiro's head coach, Adilson Batista, hopes to bring in at least three more players for next season. He is looking for two fullbacks and one midfielder, preferably one who is offensively minded.