Juventus Director Maurizio Arrivabene believes that ‘nothing is decided’ when it comes to Paulo Dybala’s future at the club. The Juve man gave a lengthy interview to Corriere dello Sport where he discusses La Joya’s contract situation, the proposed SuperLeague project and the changes at the club last summer.
On the defeat to Villarreal
Have I processed the defeat? I am a very pragmatic person and I don’t tell lies. The goal of this season was the transition to the round of 16 (in the Champions League) and the Champions final for the next one. We reached the first goal, we proceeded game after game. The elimination was absolutely unpleasant, but our plans don’t change one iota. One chapter closes and another opens, the club is focused on a three-year-plan, a three-year-project, in which – we all have it outlined clearly – the financial aspect must coexist with the sporting one, the accounts with the results of the pitch. We have never said anything different.
On Cristiano Ronaldo
“In the first few days, seeing him at the pre-season camp, motivated and ready, I convinced myself that he would stay. He later made other request and we know how it went.”
On defeats
“I am, first of all, a Juventus fan, I know the bitterness, the sensations that you feel when you are on the other side, I lived them. Now that I am in this position, with the awareness of my role and responsibilities, I react differently. Even when I’m at the game I keep everything inside, with great effort, betraying my nature.”
On Nedved
“Pavel is more instinctive, he doesn’t hold back… Look, the structure has changed at Juve, we are here not to rebuild, but to build. Me, Nedved, Cherubini and Allegri: choices, decisions and programs are the result of four-headed reflections and do not ignore the sharing of paths and objectives. Of course, under the supervision of Andrea Agnelli who experiences Juve in a total way, he arrives at 7:30 in the morning – usually at that time it’s just me and him – and leaves when it’s dark.”
The Superleague.
“It is very present in everyday life. The Super League is a theme that cannot be abandoned.”
On the January window
“Vlahovic and Zakaria are signings made on the basis of this acceleration in January and has its obvious reasons. There were movements around Dusan, especially from foreign clubs. We considered that if we had waited until June then we probably would not have achieved our objective with an auction including the English and the Spanish clubs. We checked if there were the conditions to sign him immediately, we also identified any sales capable of equalizing the investment and making it sustainable.
Then there was the meeting with Joe Barone (Fiorentina CEO) and shortly after came Fiorentina’s approval via Dusan’s agents. It is not true that we already had an agreement with the player, it is totally false. If we had done so then we would also have risked being blackmailed by Fiorentina who could have raised the price.”
On Dybala
“I do not confirm and I do not deny. On Dybala the figures you have reported are the correct ones. What has changed? In the autumn we found an agreement, true, then things definitely changed. Last winter there was the €400 million capital increase, which was used to adjust all the accounts, for this reason new evaluations were necessary which can be summarized in four parameters: The technical aspect, the number of actual appearances, the duration of the contract and how much a player is worth. Parameters that must be respected.
The last day we met, last contacted the agent? I don’t remember the exact date, but it was mid-December, when he asked “can we leave on a free?”, I replied yes, but only because I could not have closed the operation at that precise moment. It was an act of extreme honesty.
We didn’t offer a reduced deal. We chose to postpone the meeting simply because the coach wanted to level the team, we had important things to do. Is a lower offer ready? Let’s see how Paulo presents himself, nothing is decided, we’ll see.”
