Paulinho spent two underwhelming seasons at White Hart Lane after a £17 million switch, spending one year alongside Dier, before being sold to Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande at a loss in 2015.
Two years later and the 29-year-old is now at Barcelona thanks to a string of impressive displays for the Brazil national team, persuading the Liga giants to part with almost £40m.
"He's been on a world tour, hasn't he?" Dier told Tottenham's official website.
"He's gone from China, now back to Europe with Barcelona. It's great that he's in the Brazil squad and at Barcelona – it's fantastic for him and it'll be nice to see him again.
"It's always enjoyable when you play against players who you've shared a locker room with – to meet them further down the line is always nice.
"He's done very well in the last few years and I'm really happy for him. He was always very good to me when I first arrived at Spurs – we spent one season together and he's a really nice guy."
