Juventus general manager Maurizio Arrivabene discusses the Paulo Dybala contract negotiations and warns they ‘must guarantee participation in the Champions League’ next season, either through Serie A or winning the trophy.
The first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Villarreal kicks off at 20.00 GMT.
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“Juve transform, but always looking forward to the objectives we set ourselves, which are simple and at the same time difficult,” Arrivabene told Sky Sport Italia.
“We always said it was important to secure at least fourth place in Serie A or win the Champions League.”
Juventus went out in the Round of 16 over the last two seasons, so are the quarter-finals their new minimum target for this term?
“Villarreal are a solid team, the stadium is very close to the players with a fiery atmosphere. One game at a time, we must never give up and keep pushing.
“It is difficult to set precise objectives, as I said the targets of the club are to get at least fourth place in Serie A and guarantee participation in the Champions League.”
No interview with Arrivabene is complete without some questions on the outstanding contract extensions for Dybala, Juan Cuadrado, Federico Bernardeschi and others.
“Obviously, we said that at the end of February we’ll deal with the renewals. It’s a pity Dybala isn’t with us tonight, unfortunately he had an injury. We have to discuss several renewals, we will do it at the right moment and with an eye to the future.”
He was asked if there was some sense of optimism around the Dybala deal.
“It takes two to agree a contract renewal. There might be optimism on one side and pessimism on the other. Negotiations are precisely that, each party has its own list of things it wants to achieve.”
Arrivabene e il rinnovo di Dybala: “I contratti si fanno in due. Stasera è out, peccato…” https://t.co/HjDpGWV337
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