‘Paulo Dybala will leave Juventus in January’

Juventus star Paulo Dybala’s former club president Maurizio Zamparini has made quite a stunning claim, stating the Argentine forward could leave the Old Lady this winter. Dybala’s season has been marred by injuries, and the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid means he is only considered a role player by manager Massimiliano Allegri. 

As a result, Palermo president Zamparini feels he could be on the move in January, with a number of clubs interested in his services.

Zamparini also revealed that he had advised Dybala to go to Spain when he was seeking a move away from Palermo. “Two years ago, I sent a message to Paulo and I advised him to move to Spain. I told him, ‘go there, where football is played but don't stay in Italy’”, Zamparini was quoted saying to RMC Sport.

“Sooner or later, he will do that because I believe that Juventus want to pocket the money from his sale so I'm convinced that he will leave the club in January.

“He has several offers and I think he'll leave the Bianconeri. Juventus have a lot of great players and it is admittedly difficult to play for everyone but not playing Dybala is a mistake and I don't just say that because he was at Palermo,” he went on to add.

Zamparini also likened Dybala’s situation to that faced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona, when he was forced to play in Messi’s shadow. “'I remember that when Ibrahimovic joined Barcelona, he couldn't stand the competition with Messi and he left. Something similar could happen with Cristiano at Juventus.”

Dybala joined Juventus from Palermo for £36million and has since gone on to lift a plethora of trophies, including 3 Serie A crowns and 3 Coppa Italias. He has made a total of 142 appearances for the Old Lady since his arrival, scoring 68 goals.