Paulo Dybala says talks over a potential move to the Premier League did take place last summer, but he decided that “it wasn’t fair” for him to leave Juventus under a cloud.
Both Manchester United and Tottenham were close to bringing the Argentina international to England, with both Premier League rivals said to be on the verge of wrapping the deal up on separate occasions.
But despite their interest and that of Paris Saint-Gemain, ultimately Dybala ended up staying at Juventus and concentrating on winning a place in the team that had come under threat due to form and fitness concerns.
In an interview with CNN, he admits that he wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving Juve while not being able to show his best form.
“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,” said the forward.
“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 [manager, Maurizio] Sarri I grew a lot.
“The team started playing football much better and that made me stay and have had a great year until today.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com