Paulo Dybala to leave Juventus at end of season after club decide against contract renewal

Argentine forward joined the Turin giants in 2015 and has won five Serie A titles and four Italian Cups

TURIN, ITALY - MARCH 20: Paulo Dybala of Juventus celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and US Salernitana at Allianz Stadium on March 20, 2022 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino / Getty Images)

Paulo Dybala holds off a challenge from Lassana Coulibaly during the Serie A match between Juventus and Salernitana. Getty Images

Paulo Dybala celebrates after scoring Juventus' first goal against Salernitana. Getty Images

Paulo Dybala after Juventus are eliminated from the Champions League in the Round of 16 by Villarreal at Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, 16 March 2022. EPA

Paulo Dybala skips a challenge from Davide Zappacosta during Juventus' Serie A match against Atalanta at Stadio Atleti Azzurri, Bergamo on February 13, 2022. Reuters

Paulo Dybala is challenged by Atalanta players Berat Djimsiti (L) and Teun Koopmeiners. EPA

Paulo Dybala up against Maxime Lopez and Hamed Traore during the Coppa Italia match between Juventus and Sassuolo at Allianz Stadium on February 10, 2022 in Turin. Getty Images

Paulo Dybala is challenged by Pierre Kalulu during a Serie A match between AC Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, January 23, 2022. AP

Paulo Dybala takes a shot on goal during the match between AC Milan and Juventus. EPA

Paulo Dybala takes on Theo Hernandez during the Serie A match between Juventus and AC Milan. Reuters

Argentine forward Paulo Dybala will leave Juventus at the end of the season after the Serie A club announced they would not be renewing his contract, which expires in the summer.

Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene brought to an end months of speculation when he said the club had made no offer to Dybala's representatives during a meeting held on Monday in Turin.

Dybala, 28, had been waiting for talks over an extension after a verbal agreement reached in October, which would have bumped his basic salary up to €8 million ($9.1m) a season, had been rolled back by the club.

"With the arrival of [striker Dusan] Vlahovic [in January] the footballing structure at the club has changed. Juventus' project has changed and part of this change included Dybala's contract which today was not renewed," Arrivabene said.

"It would have been easy for Juventus to make a much-reduced offer but it would have been disrespectful to Paulo."

Now effectively a free agent, Italian media report that Dybala could move to Juve's fiercest rivals Inter Milan, with Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur also reportedly keen.

The Argentina international has been dogged by injuries over the last two seasons and Arrivabene suggested that his absences played a part in the club's decision not to renew.

"Paulo is no longer at the centre of the Juventus project, that's why we preferred to make this decision," he said. "No one has ever questioned his quality but there were considerations to be made over his appearance numbers and length of his contract."

Dybala signed for Juventus from Palermo in 2015 and since then has won five Serie A titles and four Italian Cups. He also played in the team which reached the 2017 Champions League final, where they lost to Real Madrid.

This season's Champions League campaign was ended in a shock Round of 16 defeat to Spanish side Villarreal.