Product Code Database
Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AS Roma and the Argentina national team. He is nicknamed "La Joya" ("The Jewel").
Dybala began his club career in 2011 with Instituto de Córdoba before signing for Palermo FC in 2012, where he won a Serie B title. In 2015, Dybala signed for Juventus FC and won Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia titles. He was also named Serie A Most Valuable Player in the 2019–20 season and was named in the Serie A Team of the Year four times; Dybala ranks as the club's ninth-highest all-time goalscorer. In 2022, Dybala joined fellow Serie A club Roma.
Dybala made his senior debut for Argentina in 2015 at the age of 21. He has made 40 appearances and represented Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 Copa América, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, winning the latter title.
Dybala made his debut for the club in a Serie A match against SS Lazio. He scored his first and second goal in Italy on 11 November 2012 when Palermo defeated Sampdoria at home, 2–0. Dybala had his breakthrough season in the 2014–15 Serie A where he scored ten goals in the first half of the season, forming a successful striking partnership with fellow Argentine–Italian Franco Vázquez and being linked with several top European clubs. He finished the season with 13 goals and 10 assists, which made him one of the top assist providers in the league.
Dybala scored his first career Coppa Italia goal in a 4–0 win over cross-city rivals Torino FC on 16 December. On 23 February 2016, Dybala scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–2 home draw to Bayern Munich in Juventus' first round of 16 leg. On 15 March, it was announced Dybala would miss the second round of 16 leg of the Champions League against Bayern on 16 March due to an edema overload of his left soleus muscle. He returned to action four days later in a 4–1 away win over Torino, but was substituted after sustaining yet another injury. On 21 April, Dybala scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Lazio, which took his league tally to 16 goals in 31 appearances and also saw him score his 20th goal of the season in all competitions in the process. He finished the season as Juventus' top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and 19 goals in Serie A, as the club celebrated their Serie A title victory.
Following the departure of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in the summer of 2016, Dybala was offered the number 10 jersey by Juventus, although he turned it down, preferring to keep the number 21 jersey that he had worn during his previous season. Following manager Massimiliano Allegri's switch to a 4–2–3–1 formation, the 2016–17 season saw Dybala operate in a deeper playmaking role behind the club's new signing Gonzalo Higuaín, which saw a decrease in his goalscoring output as he took on increasing defensive and creative duties. After struggling to score at the beginning of the season, Dybala scored his first goal of the 2016–17 campaign on 27 September, in a 4–0 away win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. He scored his first Serie A goal of the season that weekend, on 2 October, in a 3–0 away win over Empoli FC.
On 11 April, Dybala scored two goals in Juventus's first-leg Champions League quarter-final fixture against Barcelona, helping the club to a 3–0 home victory. On 13 April 2017, Dybala renewed his contract with Juventus until 2022. On 3 June, Dybala started in the 2017 Champions League final, but Juventus were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid, missing out on the treble.
On 4 August 2017, Dybala was named one of the three finalists for the Forward of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award. On 9 August, Dybala was confirmed to wear the number 10 shirt for Juventus. On 13 August he scored two goals in a 3–2 defeat to Lazio in the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana. On 15 August, Dybala placed sixth in the 2017 UEFA Best Player of the Year Award. On 26 August, Dybala scored his first hat-trick in Serie A in a 4–2 away win over Genoa CFC. He repeated the feat on 17 September, in his 100th appearance for Juventus, scoring all three goals, including one free-kick, in the club's 3–1 away win over Sassuolo, marking his second hat-trick in Serie A. On 11 March 2018, Dybala scored a brace in a 2–0 home win over Udinese Calcio in Serie A; his first goal of the match was also his 100th career goal. He made his 150th appearance in Serie A in a 0–0 away draw against SPAL, on 17 March.
Following a disappointing 2018–19 campaign, Dybala was initially linked with a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, although he ultimately remained with Juventus for the 2019–20 season. Although he was initially not expected to start under the club's new manager Maurizio Sarri, he eventually broke into the first XI and scored his first goal of the season on 6 October 2019, in a 2–1 away win over rivals Inter Milan, to help his side overtake the Nerazzurri at the top of the Serie A table. On 7 December, he made his 200th appearance for Juventus in a 3–1 away defeat to Lazio in Serie A.
In the 2020 Coppa Italia final against SSC Napoli on 17 June, following a 0–0 draw after regulation time, Dybala missed Juventus's first spot-kick in the resulting shoot-out, with his shot being saved by Alex Meret; Napoli ultimately won the match 4–2 on penalties. At the end of the season, Dybala was awarded the Serie A MVP award for the 2019–20 season. He finished the campaign with 11 goals and 6 assists, helping Juventus win their 9th consecutive title.
On 20 October 2020, Dybala made his first appearance of the new season in Juventus's opening Champions League game, coming on as a second–half substitute in a 2–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv. Dybala scored his first goal of the season on 4 November against Ferencváros in a 4–1 win during a Champions League group stage match.
Prior to the start of the 2021–22 season, he was named vice-captain of the team. On 21 March 2022, Juventus chief executive officer Maurizio Arrivabene announced that the club had decided not to renew Dybala's contract which would expire in the summer, citing changes in the club's project following the arrival of striker Dušan Vlahović earlier that year. After being sidelined for months due to injury, Dybala made his return on 7 April 2021, scoring the winning goal of a 2–1 home win over Napoli. On 12 May, he scored a goal in a 3–1 away win over Sassuolo, to reach his 100th goal for Juventus in all competitions, hence he became the first non-European player in doing so. On 15 May 2022, Dybala announced on social media that he would leave Juventus at the end of the season. Dybala played his final Juventus Stadium match for Juventus on 16 May 2022 against Lazio, being substituted by Martin Palumbo in the 78th minute, for which he received a standing ovation.
On 26 February 2024, he scored his first hat-trick for the club, in a 3–2 home win against Torino FC in Serie A. On 18 April, he scored his 50th goal for the club in a 2–1 home win against AC Milan in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, which saw Roma advance to the semi-finals of the competition. Following rumours linking him with a move to the Saudi Pro League, Dybala remained at Roma for the final year of his contract, with media outlets labeling him "central" to manager Daniele de Rossi's project.
In January 2025, an automatic extension clause in his contract was activated, allowing him stay with the club until 30 June 2026 on his reported base salary of €8 million per year.
On 1 September 2016, Dybala was sent off in the first half of a 1–0 home victory against Uruguay in a 2018 World Cup qualification for a second bookable offence. On 13 June 2017, he set up a goal for Joaquín Correa in a 6–0 away friendly victory against Singapore.
In May 2018, Dybala was named in Argentina's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia; later that month, he was included in Jorge Sampaoli's final 23-man squad for the tournament. He made his World Cup debut in Argentina's second group match on 21 June, coming on as a second-half substitute for Enzo Pérez in the 68th minute of an eventual 3–0 defeat to Croatia. This was his only appearance in the tournament, as Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16 on 30 June, following a 4–3 defeat to France. Later that year, Dybala scored his first senior international goal on 20 November, in a 2–0 friendly home victory against Mexico.
In May 2019, Dybala was included in Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni's preliminary 40-man squad for the 2019 Copa América. Later that month, he was included in the final 23-man squad for the tournament. In Argentina's final group match against Qatar on 23 June, Dybala assisted Agüero's goal in a 2–0 win after coming off the bench for Lautaro Martínez, which enabled them to advance to the knock-out stages of the competition. In the third-place match against Chile on 6 July, Dybala made his first start of the tournament, and scored Argentina's second goal in an eventual 2–1 win, to help his team capture the bronze medal.
He was included in the final 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by Lionel Scaloni. On 13 December, he made his first appearance against Croatia, replacing Julián Álvarez, in a 3–0 semi-final victory. Five days later, in the final, he substituted Nicolás Tagliafico right before the penalty shoot-out as the match ended 3–3 at extra-time. He made a late defensive clearance in his team's defensive area, and scored the second penalty in the shoot-out as his team eventually defeated France 4–2 to win the World Cup.
In May 2024, Dybala was left out of Scaloni's squad for the 2024 Copa América.
A versatile forward, Dybala can play in any attacking position. He started out as a left winger for Instituto in Argentina but since moving to Italy, he has played as a right winger or as an attacking midfielder. Because of his involvement in his team's attacking plays and his goalscoring ability, his former manager at Juventus Massimiliano Allegri used Dybala as a central midfielder on some occasions (known as a "mezzala", in Italian), and described him as a "box-to-box player" ("tuttocampista", in Italian) in 2018. Dybala is also adept at scoring free-kicks and penalties. His playing style has drawn comparisons with compatriots Sergio Agüero, Javier Pastore, Carlos Tevez, Omar Sívori, New Maradona, and Lionel Messi, as well as former Italian forwards Vincenzo Montella, Alessandro Del Piero, and Roberto Baggio; the latter of whom described Dybala as the number 10 of the future in 2017. Widely considered to be a highly talented prospect in world football, in 2014, Don Balón named him one of the 100 most promising young players in the world born after 1993. Despite his talent, his consistency and leadership qualities have been questioned by the media. Moreover, he has struggled with numerous injuries.
After scoring a goal, Dybala is known for using his signature "mask" Goal celebration; regarding the celebration, he commented: "My mask gesture isn't so much a goal celebration but rather a message. It's an ideal mask, which gladiators wore to fight. In Doha against Milan, after we lost Supercoppa, the idea of this celebration was born."
Dybala has several tattoos on his body: two stripes on his left arm, an Arabic tattoo, and a crowned football on his leg.
Since 2018, Dybala has been in a relationship with Oriana Sabatini, who is the daughter of the Venezuelan actress Catherine Fulop and Osvaldo Sabatini, and the niece of legendary Argentinian tennis champion, Gabriela Sabatini. On 20 July 2024, the two were married. The couple announced they were expecting their first child on 30 September 2025.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2" | Club !rowspan="2" | Season !colspan="3" | League !colspan="2" | National cup !colspan="2" | Continental !colspan="2" | Other !colspan="2" | Total |
| Instituto de Córdoba | 2011–12 | Primera Nacional | 17 | ||||
| Palermo FC | 2012–13 | Serie A | 3 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Serie B | 5 | |||||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 13 | |||||
| Juventus FC | 2015–16 | Serie A | 23 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Serie A | 19 | |||||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 26 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 10 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 17 | |||||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 5 | |||||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 15 | |||||
| AS Roma | 2022–23 | Serie A | 18 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 16 | |||||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 8 | |||||
| 2025–26 | Serie A | 3 | |||||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals | |
| Argentina | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
Juventus
Roma
Argentina
Individual
Records
+ List of international goals scored by Paulo Dybala
!scope="col" No.
!scope="col" data-sort-type="date" Date
!scope="col" Venue
!scope="col" Cap
!scope="col" Opponent
!scope="col" Score
!scope="col" Result
!scope="col" Competition 1 Friendly 2 2019 Copa América 3 2022 Finalissima 4 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours
Palermo
External links
Categories: 1993 Births, Living People, Argentine People Of Polish Descent, Argentine People Of Italian Descent, Sportspeople Of Italian Descent, Footballers From Córdoba Province, Argentina, Argentine Men's Footballers, Men's Association Football Forwards, Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba Footballers, Palermo Fc Players, Juventus Fc Players, As Roma Players, Primera Nacional Players, Serie A Players, Serie B Players, Argentina Men's International Footballers, 2018 Fifa World Cup Players, 2019 Copa América Players, 2022 Fifa World Cup Players, Fifa World Cup–winning Players, Argentine Expatriate Men's Footballers, Argentine Expatriate Sportspeople In Italy, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Italy, 21st-century Argentine Sportsmen
|
|
