Leverkusen (Germany), Jul 20 (IANS): Brazil's Paulinho made his first official appearance here as a member of Bayer Leverkusen.

The German side announced in April that they reached a deal with Brazilian club Vasco da Gama to acquire the striker, but the formal signing had to wait until after Paulinho turned 18 this month, reports Efe.

Paulinho told on Thursday's press conference in Leverkusen that he takes Cristiano Ronaldo - seen by many as one of the world's best footballers - as his example.

"I'm reluctant to talk about role models but rather a player you can emulate, that you can watch and whose development you want to take from," Paulinho said, according to Bundesliga.com.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is such a player for me. He always works really hard on his game. That suits my character," the Brazilian said.

With Leverkusen, Paulinho will wear the No. 7, the same as the Portugal international who led Real Madrid to three straight Champions League titles before joining Juventus this month.

The youngster will have five pre-season friendlies to adapt to his new team before the Bundesliga season opens on August 25.

"In the Bundesliga there are a lot of strong teams. It's a very competitive league so I'm really looking forward to it," Paulinho said.