Paulo Dybala has revealed there were “conversations” with Manchester United and Tottenham over a move to the Premier League in 2019 although he didn’t want to leave Juventus without proving his worth to the club.
Dybala has been a key player in Juve’s squad over the last five years but had to play second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo at times last season following his arrival from Real Madrid.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the focal point in attack in Massimiliano Allegri’s starting XI, while Dybala was shifted to a role out wide, which reduced his effectiveness in the final third.
The Argentinian finished the campaign with a career-low five goals and four assists to his name from 30 appearances, leading to question marks over his future at the club.
The 26-year-old claims Juve deemed him surplus to requirements, but he chose to fight for his place at the Allianz Stadium instead of entertaining the advances of Premier League duo United and Spurs.
Dybala says Paris Saint-Germain also made contact with his entourage before he informed the Juve board of his “intention” to stay put, as he told CNN: “It was more or less last year at this point when Juventus didn’t want to count on me, didn’t want me to continue playing here.
“That’s when I was contacted and there were some clubs that were interested in me. Among those were Manchester United and Tottenham.
“I think for a long time there were conversations, then Paris Saint-Germain also appeared.
“I did not speak directly to any of them, but there were conversations with the clubs. However, my intention at the time was to stay. I hadn’t had a good year or a positive last six months, so I didn’t want to leave with that image because I think I had given the club a lot of nice moments and it wasn’t fair that I went like this.
“So I also communicated that my intention was to stay, work to grow and give my best here. Obviously it was not easy because Juventus’ intentions were different, but after the market closed, there was no more time and with the arrival of [Maurizio] Sarri I grew a lot.
“The team started playing football much better and that made me stay and I’ve had a great year until today.”
Dybala has rediscovered his best form in the 2019-20 campaign under Maurizio Sarri, who arrived from Chelsea last summer after Allegri’s decision to step down.
The diminutive forward hit 13 goals and assisted another 12 in 34 outings before the season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus outbreak, and will likely continue to play a vital role in Juve’s pursuit of a ninth successive Serie A crown when the action resumes on June 20.