KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have confirmed that Perak FC striker Guilherme De Paula is now officially the country’s third naturalised player, following in the footsteps of Mohamadou Sumareh and Liridon Krasniqi.

Yesterday, Perak FC had posted on their Facebook page that De Paula, 34, would be registered as a local player for this season’s M-League.

This has left Harimau Malaya team manager Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi purring with delight, saying this would open the door for national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe to call up the Brazil-born De Paula to don national colours.

"Cheng Hoe will surely want to assess De Paula’s capabilities in the Malaysia League (M-league), which is scheduled to begin this week.

"I believe that Cheng Hoe will call him up for national team training on March 22,” he told Bernama today. — Bernama