The Argentinian international will leave the Old Lady without transfer compensation at the end of his contract.
Juventus Turin will not offer a new contract to their Argentinian playmaker Paulo Dybala, at the end of the current lease which ends in June, an official of the bianconero club announced on Monday. “With the arrival of Vlahovic (in January, editor’s note), his position was no longer central. It was deemed preferable to take the decision not to renew his contract“, declared the managing director of Juve Maurizio Arrivabene, quoted by several Italian media.
Dybala, 28, has been with Juve since 2015. Highly anticipated this season, he was appointed vice-captain at the start of the season, but several absences due to injuries have affected the performance of this major player of the “Old Lady”. The divorce of Dybala, another star to leave Juventus a year after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, with his club was recorded during a daytime meeting with the player’s entourage.
Negotiations had been going on for months. The lights all seemed to be green for an extension at the start of the season, but in recent months Juve seemed less willing to align themselves with the Argentinian’s salary claims. In January, the “Joya” (“the jewel”, his nickname) had not masked his frustration with the procrastination of the club, and had fixed his leaders in the stands without smiling after scoring a goal against Udinese.
Several clubs in the rows
This gesture of defiance had been interpreted as a response to the words of the same Maurizio Arrivabene a few days earlier. He felt that “everyone must earn their place and demonstrate the value they give themselves“. Sunday, Dybala scored again for his return as a starter after several weeks of absence and came out to a standing ovation from Juventus Stadium. But that was not enough to convince Juve, who must also monitor their accounts, in the red and still weakened by the premature elimination in the Champions League last week.
«We thought a lot but the leaders of Juve do not make the decisions against Juve but for Juve“, assured Monday evening the managing director, quoted by the Italian agency Ansa. “It would have been easy to make a low offer, but not respectful of Paulo, who spent seven years with us“, he specified. The player did not speak after the meeting organized during the day.
Several clubs would be in the running to attract the Argentine nugget, more free than ever at the end of the season, including Inter Milan and Atlético Madrid, according to Gazetta dello sport. At Juventus, Dybala – who arrived in 2015 from Palermo – scored a lot (113 goals in 283 matches) and won numerous trophies: five Italian league titles and four Italian Cups. While a sixth scudetto is unlikely, he can still add a Coppa Italia to that roster, with Juve well on their way to qualifying for the final.