Juventus and Paulo Dybala verbally agreed to a new contract back in October but pen was never put to paper and now his renewal is in doubt. How has it got to this point?
The 28-year-old Argentinian forward’s current deal expires with the Bianconeri at the end of this season, meaning that he’s currently able to sign a pre-contract with a new club. Considering that he’s one of the main stars in the Juventus squad, they took a significant risk by failing to tie him down to a new deal before the end of the January transfer window.
Back in October, Dybala reportedly agreed to renew his contract for four years with Juventus, earning €8m net per season plus €2m in add-ons. At the time, Dybala was confident that an agreement would be fully formalised soon and he expressed this to the media.
“We hope to close soon for the renewal. This is everyone’s desire to complete the negotiations. They know that on my part, there is a great desire to stay in Turin. I know that the management also wants to extend my contract and we have started talking again.
“We hope that everything will be over soon and good news can arrive for everyone. I am very confident.”
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Juventus began to get cold feet however, with their main concern reportedly being the player’s fitness and injury record. Dybala has missed a number of games so far this season due to injury and last campaign he was sidelined for four months due to a medial collateral ligament issue.
These concerns led the Bianconeri to consider changing their offer to the former Palermo man, wanting to reduce the length of the deal by a year and changing the wage structure by lowering the fixed amount and raising the incentive-based add-ons.
Unsurprisingly Dybala was not impressed and now Inter are looking to complicate things, with CEO Beppe Marotta making initial contacts regarding a possible move in the summer.
The Argentinian forward’s agent Jorge Antun will meet with Juventus’ management later this week to take stock of the situation, but for now there’s a serious possibility of Dybala leaving Turin after seven years at the end of this season, closing an important chapter in his career.