Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene provided a less than convincing answer when asked about Paulo Dybala’s potential new contract before Sunday’s game against AS Roma.
The Matchday 21 bout would prove to be an all-timer as Juve came from 3-1 down in the space of seven second-half minutes to win 4-3. After Mattia De Sciglio completed the turnaround in the 77th minute, they were then forced to see the game out with ten men following Matthijs de Ligt’s 83rd-minute dismissal.
The Dutchman’s handball offered Lorenzo Pellegrini the chance to level from the spot, but the Italian’s weak penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.
It was a game that had absolutely everything, including a trademark Dybala strike. The Argentine cancelled out Tammy Abraham’s early opener with a wonderful curled effort.
Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene coy on Paulo Dybala’s new contract
Juventus are set to extend Paulo Dybala’s contract until June 2025. The agreement is at final stages - not signed yet but more than advanced. Last details to be fixed soon. 🇦🇷📑 #Juventus #Dybala
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 5, 2021
Paulo’s current deal expires in June 2022. He always wanted to stay at Juventus.
Remarkably, Dybala is yet to pen his extension with Juventus. The Argentine had supposedly agreed to a new deal until 2025 with an official announcement expected at any point towards the end of 2021.
But that announcement hasn’t arrived and the situation has dragged into the new year. The latest comments from Arrivabene suggest that Dybala’s extension is anything but a done deal.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, Juve’s CEO told DAZN Italy (via @JuveFC): “Dybala? we said we would sit down with him again in February to have time to evaluate. He has to earn his place, he has to be worth the value he gives. Each of us has to do this. He’s not a poor player, let’s look ahead.”
Are Juve concerned by Dybala’s injury record?
Arrivabene’s comments are certainly bold considering just how important Dybala is to the Bianconeri. La Joya’s magic manifested in Rome on Sunday evening and that goal took his Serie A tally up to six for the season as he pulled ahead of Alvaro Morata at the top of Juve’s goalscoring charts.
However, the Argentine’s seemingly perpetual injury woes may have spooked the club’s hierarchy. After missing much of the 2020/21 campaign due to a knee injury, Dybala has missed several games already this season with multiple issues.
His injury record is a concern and Juve would certainly be taking a risk by offering the player a long-term extension with big wages despite his obvious quality.
As Arrivabene noted, discussions are set to continue in February with Dybala now free to talk to potential suitors over a potential pre-contract agreement for a summer move.