Paulo Dybala has distanced himself from speculation that he is poised to call time on his Roma career and return to Argentina, according to a report in La Repubblica.
Previous reports had suggested the 32-year-old, whose Stadio Olimpico contract expires next summer, was receptive to alleged interest from Primera División side Boca Juniors.
However, the latest claims suggest that, despite an underwhelming start to the season, Dybala, whose existing contract expires next summer, hopes to remain in the Italian capital, with initial talks over a new deal already in the offing.
Financial compromise
Any extension would almost certainly involve an element of financial compromise. After tax and before bonuses, Dybala currently earns an estimated £7.5m annually. That figure is at odds with the direction of travel under Roma’s new sporting director Frederic Massara, whose summer arrival from Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais has been accompanied by an emphasis on reducing the club’s wage bill while focusing on players under the age of 30.
As Roma’s highest earner, Dybala would need to adapt to the new regime. Yet there seems to be a willingness on both sides to reach agreement. A January move has been ruled out, with the forward reportedly surprised by rumours of his impending departure.
That will come as a disappointment in Buenos Aires, where speculation about Dybala’s homecoming had been met with a ripple of excitement.
How Paulo Dybala earned the nickname ‘the Jewel’
A return to Argentina would have marked a full-circle moment for the World Cup winner, who began his career with hometown club Instituto de Córdoba in 2011. It was there that Dybala earned the nickname La Joya – the Jewel – after scoring on his second appearance to eclipse Albiceleste legend Mario Kempes as the club’s youngest goalscorer.
That proved the prelude to a 13-year stay in the Italian top-flight with Palermo, Juventus and Roma that has yielded 130 league goals, a milestone Dybala reached when he scored the winner at Sassuolo in late October.
For all his goalscoring exploits, however, the past two seasons have unfolded against a backdrop of chequered form and recurring injury. Dybala has scored twice in a dozen appearances this season, continuing a pattern established last term, when he found the net just nine times in 38 outings.
He nonetheless remains settled in Rome, where his wife, the model and actress Oriana Sabatini, is expected to give birth to the couple’s first child next March.
Dybala’s trophy haul in Italy includes five league titles, four Coppa Italia victories and two Supercoppa Italiana wins. He also started the 2017 Champions League final for Juventus, who were beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, and the 2023 Europa League final in Budapest, where Roma were beaten on penalties by Sevilla.
The Giallorossi faithful will be hopeful there is more to come. As former Roma manager José Mourinho once put it, “The music is different when Paulo is on the pitch.”
