Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed that the decision to let Paulo Dybala leave this summer was down to the arrival of in January, saying the Argentine is ‘no longer at the centre of the project’.
The 28-year-old will be leaving Turin after seven years at the club, which has seen him win five Serie A titles and four Coppa Italias.
He has scored 113 goals for Juve in all competitions, although has not been able to replicate the numbers he was producing earlier in his spell with the club, with his best season coming in 2017-18 when he netted 26 times.
Dybala has still been playing regularly, starting 19 Serie A games this season, but the January addition of Vlahovic to an already packed forward line – including Alvaro Morata, Moise Kean, Federico Chiesa and Filippo Berardeschi – meant the club are happy to let the former Parma man go.
‘The most important change is that have not renewed Paulo Dybala’s contract. With the market I reiterated this, the approach was sincere,’ Arrivabene said, via TuttoMercatoWeb.
‘With the purchases made in January, with the arrival of [Dusan] Vlahovic, Paulo’s position was no longer at the centre of the project. That’s why this kind of decision was preferred.
‘The parameters were different, I had already spoken about it, no one has ever questioned Paulo’s ability. There were considerations to be made about appearances, length and financial considerations.
‘We made our choices in January, we got here. It would have been easy for Juventus to make a low bid, but it would have been disrespectful towards Paulo. The decision is made. Today’s meeting was friendly, clear and respectful.’
Dybala has been heavily linked with a move away from Juventus over the last couple of years, with a string of Europe’s biggest clubs reportedly interested.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham have all been credited with interest in the forward, while both Inter and AC Milan and Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid could also make a move.
He is certainly not going to be short of options for his next club and there will be enormous wages offered as no transfer fee will be involved.
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