Medhi Benatia expects his friend and former teammate Paulo Dybala to leave Italy in the summer, finding it hard to imagine him at another club in Serie A.
The 28-year-old Argentinian forward will not renew his contract with Juventus, meaning that he’ll leave on a free transfer in the summer. He has been heavily linked with a move to rivals Inter but for now no decision has been made regarding his future.
Speaking to TuttoJuve, Benatia first expressed his surprise that Dybala didn’t renew his contract with Juventus.
“No, honestly I didn’t. In recent years he has always been at the centre of the project as the number 10, goal scorer and captain in Giorgio’s absence.
“He’s always been in love with Juventus, unfortunately he’s had his ups and downs with the club and that was the final decision. I am very sorry because I would have liked to see Dybala here in Turin still.”
He revealed that he expects the Argentinian forward to join a foreign club in the summer.
“I only see Paulo at Juve in Italy, not at other clubs. He’s now a top player, so he’ll have the chance to play in Spain, France and Germany. There’s no doubt about that. He’ll do well in any team, I wish him the right decision. He’s a true friend, I love him a lot.”
The former Juventus full defender touched on some of the possible Dybala replacements, including Mohamed Salah and Nicolo Zaniolo.
“It’ll definitely have to be a great player. Replacing Dybala with Salah would be a great idea, but for me it’s very difficult. He’s currently one of the strongest in the world in his role, I don’t know if Juve today are capable of bringing him home.
“Zaniolo has been unlucky with injuries, but I’ve appreciated him from the start. I think he’s good, he has strength in his legs and is very good technically. He reminds me a bit of Kaka, this boy can really become a phenomenon. He can do great things.”
Despite his praise of Zaniolo however, Benatia doesn’t think the Italian should join Juventus.
“I’d prefer him to stay at Roma, so he can become a decisive player for those colours.”
The 28-year-old Dybala has scored 113 goals and provided 48 assists in 283 appearances across all competitions for Juventus since his arrival in 2015 from Palermo.
Boom! La mia chiacchierata con @MedhiBenatia: "#Dybala? Volevo restasse qui, in Italia solo la #Juve. Consiglio #Rüdiger, vi svelo un retroscena su di lui. Sulla nuova vita, #Chiellini e #Zaniolo…"https://t.co/0j4zOek7fT
— Mirko Di Natale (@_Morik92_) March 28, 2022