Argentine forward Paulo Dybala is staying in Italy after his contract with Seria A giants Juventus expired. Dybala is now headed to the capital, where he’ll put on an AS Roma jersey.
Dybala passed his medical and inked the deal with Roma on Tuesday and was already part of the team’s training the day after. According to reports, the 28-year-old player is now under contract for three seasons and will get an annual salary of around €6 million.
“The days that led me to sign this contract were full of many emotions,” said Dybala after the news became official. “The speed and determination with which Roma showed how much they wanted me made the difference.”
Paulo Dybala was initially supposed to sign a new deal with Juventus, where he played since 2015. The two sides have been negotiating since 2019 and seemed close to getting the deal done early in the 2021-22 season. However, Juve then decided to take the offer from the table and sign Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina in the January transfer window.
Dybala became a free agent and was pursued by several clubs from Italy and Europe. Juve’s bitter rivals Inter Milan seemed like the most likely suitor, but then they managed to get Romelu Lukaku back on loan, and their interest cooled off. This allowed Roma to swoop in and get a player they would probably have a hard time signing in different circumstances.
Dybala had 113 goals and 48 assists in 283 games in Juve’s jersey. He also helped the club win a dozen trophies, including five Seria A titles.
