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SERIE A

Paulo Dybala admits he was close to leaving Juventus

Manchester United and Tottenham were rumoured to be keen on signing Paulo Dybala, who says he has no idea what will happen in the final two years of his contract.

Update:
Paulo Dybala admits he was close to leaving Juventus
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Paulo Dybala has confessed that the thought of leaving Juventus did cross his mind last summer and even now, he has no idea what will happen between now and the time his contract expires in June 2022. Dybala was rumoured to be on Manchester United and Tottenham's wants list, but ended up staying at Juventus. This season, he has impressed, scoring 11 goals in 26 games, but he admits he did almost leave Juve.

Juventus must decide what they want from me - Dybala

"I was close to leaving. That was in the club's thinking, I knew. Until the last minute, we were waiting," Dybala told The Guardian's Sid Lowe. "I have two years left on my contract. That's not a short time but it's not a long one either. We'll see what plans Juventus have, if they think I might leave in the next market or if they want me to stay. That's a decision for the club to make. It's hard to know because things change in a second. But I'm here, at a club that has treated me well. I'm happy, comfortable. [Maurizio] Sarri's arrival has helped. He wanted me to stay, which gave me strength when we didn't know what would happen. I knew he could teach me, help me bring out the best in myself."

Dybala has been at Juventus since 2015, when he arrived after three seasons in Italy with Palermo. Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini had labelled Dybala 'the new Sergio Agüero' when the player signed, but the 26-year-old said he had no interest in comparisons.

"If you believe that, it weighs on you, but I always said I didn't want to be the new anything, I want people to say my goals, my moves, are 'like Dybala', not anyone else," Dybala said. "[Lionel] Messi, [Omar] Sivori, and Aguero won incredible things. I wanted to win my things, not theirs. There was criticism because it was €8million for a 17-year-old, their highest transfer ever. I left for €40m and when I got here, the first thing they asked was about the fee. You think about the prices paid now."

Read the full Dybala interview here: