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De Rossi’s Roma set to move on without Paulo Dybala

De Rossi’s Roma set to move on without Paulo Dybala

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When Paulo Dybala joined Roma a couple of years ago, his arrival was met with rapturous fanfare. His stint in the capital has gone quite well but an exit at this point does make sense for the club.

By Kaustubh Pandey

Dybala had initially rejected an offer from Saudi side Al-Qadsiah a couple of months ago, making it clear that he would be staying at Roma, where his contract runs out in the summer of 2025. He was expected to be a regular and at the very centre of the project. Fast forward to August and Dybala was left on the bench for a friendly against Everton and Roma boss Daniele de Rossi proceeded to say that La Joya wouldn’t always be a regular. Reports in Italy later confirmed that Roma would not be against an exit and that he is no longer central to ‘the project.’

Things moved quickly soon enough. Al-Qadsiah returned with an offer and Dybala’s agent held a meeting with executives from the Saudi Arabian club. Dybala took his time to answer, as reports suggested that while his wife initially wasn’t in favour of the move, his mother flew into Rome to have a say in the matter. Roma fans even wrote messages outside the club’s training ground, saying: “Paulo is not for sale.”

Gianluca di Marzio has now confirmed that Dybala has accepted the big-money offer from Al-Qadsiah.

While the decision would break the hearts of many football purists, romantics, and Roma fans, there is reason to believe that the decision to move on the gifted Argentine might be the right decision.

Roma remove a high earner off their books

Dybala currently earns about €7.5 million per year in his Roma deal and that is a big amount for a Serie A side, considering the financial realities faced by the league. There has also been talk in the Italian press about the fact that if he plays a certain amount of games in the 2024/25 season, it would trigger a major wage increase and a new deal that would extend to 2026.

If that happens – in a hypothetical scenario, Roma could spend close to €20 million (or more) on the player.

But if they sell La Joya, they save all that money and also earn a transfer fee. While Dybala’s €12 million release clause has expired, Roma will still earn a fee. For now, it seems as if it could be less than €10 million but it still would help Roma financially and give them a lot of leg room in the transfer market.

That isn’t the only reason why moving the Argentine on could be a sensible move.

Availability issues

Dybala is a genius when he’s on song. He has contributed to over 50 goals in domestic competitions across two seasons for Roma, often carrying the attack under José Mourinho and that is something the Portuguese coach also constantly shed light on.

Dybala recent season summary

But he has missed 34 games during that time and that is close to an entire season of a domestic league. Many of the absences are due to muscle injuries and this has led to him missing key games, something that became a huge issue under Mourinho.

Combine that with the fact that he’s one of the biggest wage earners across the entirety of Serie A, Roma would rather spend that wage on players who are more available – even if they’re not as supremely effective as La Joya.

De Rossi’s new era needs new changes

Daniele de Rossi’s approach to the game is much more dynamic and front-foot than Mourinho’s. It requires pro-activity off the ball, tracking back, pressing high and constant movement. 

Dybala is increasingly becoming a very ball-to-feet player and that is completely fine, considering his incredible technical ability and how he’s a rare breed in the game. But with a declining physical condition and that burden of the wages on him, he is probably not too suited for a very dynamic approach.

It isn’t to say that he’s been bad under De Rossi – that isn’t the case at all. He has ten goals under the Italian, but there comes a point at a certain juncture of a manager’s tactical evolution when a system can’t revolve around a single player anymore. That is when that player holds a system back; the team back.

History is full of examples where despite a player’s tangible output in terms of goals, the team suffered and never evolved tactical. Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United during his second stint is a classic example and clubs need to learn from it. 

As De Rossi enters his first full season of his time at the club of his dreams, his system will evolve and it would be better for him and the Giallorossi to have a more fitter and system-suited player than Dybala. 

That would indeed be a sad way to sideline a true great of the sport in Italy, but that is just how it goes.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Serie A on FotMob – with deep stats, xG, and players ratings. Download the free app here.

De Rossi’s Roma set to move on without Paulo Dybala

When Paulo Dybala joined Roma a couple of years ago, his arrival was met with rapturous fanfare. His stint in the capital has gone quite well but an exit at this point does make sense for the club.

By Kaustubh Pandey

Dybala had initially rejected an offer from Saudi side Al-Qadsiah a couple of months ago, making it clear that he would be staying at Roma, where his contract runs out in the summer of 2025. He was expected to be a regular and at the very centre of the project. Fast forward to August and Dybala was left on the bench for a friendly against Everton and Roma boss Daniele de Rossi proceeded to say that La Joya wouldn’t always be a regular. Reports in Italy later confirmed that Roma would not be against an exit and that he is no longer central to ‘the project.’

Things moved quickly soon enough. Al-Qadsiah returned with an offer and Dybala’s agent held a meeting with executives from the Saudi Arabian club. Dybala took his time to answer, as reports suggested that while his wife initially wasn’t in favour of the move, his mother flew into Rome to have a say in the matter. Roma fans even wrote messages outside the club’s training ground, saying: “Paulo is not for sale.”

Gianluca di Marzio has now confirmed that Dybala has accepted the big-money offer from Al-Qadsiah.

While the decision would break the hearts of many football purists, romantics, and Roma fans, there is reason to believe that the decision to move on the gifted Argentine might be the right decision.

Roma remove a high earner off their books

Dybala currently earns about €7.5 million per year in his Roma deal and that is a big amount for a Serie A side, considering the financial realities faced by the league. There has also been talk in the Italian press about the fact that if he plays a certain amount of games in the 2024/25 season, it would trigger a major wage increase and a new deal that would extend to 2026.

If that happens – in a hypothetical scenario, Roma could spend close to €20 million (or more) on the player.

But if they sell La Joya, they save all that money and also earn a transfer fee. While Dybala’s €12 million release clause has expired, Roma will still earn a fee. For now, it seems as if it could be less than €10 million but it still would help Roma financially and give them a lot of leg room in the transfer market.

That isn’t the only reason why moving the Argentine on could be a sensible move.

Availability issues

Dybala is a genius when he’s on song. He has contributed to over 50 goals in domestic competitions across two seasons for Roma, often carrying the attack under José Mourinho and that is something the Portuguese coach also constantly shed light on.

Dybala recent season summary

But he has missed 34 games during that time and that is close to an entire season of a domestic league. Many of the absences are due to muscle injuries and this has led to him missing key games, something that became a huge issue under Mourinho.

Combine that with the fact that he’s one of the biggest wage earners across the entirety of Serie A, Roma would rather spend that wage on players who are more available – even if they’re not as supremely effective as La Joya.

De Rossi’s new era needs new changes

Daniele de Rossi’s approach to the game is much more dynamic and front-foot than Mourinho’s. It requires pro-activity off the ball, tracking back, pressing high and constant movement. 

Dybala is increasingly becoming a very ball-to-feet player and that is completely fine, considering his incredible technical ability and how he’s a rare breed in the game. But with a declining physical condition and that burden of the wages on him, he is probably not too suited for a very dynamic approach.

It isn’t to say that he’s been bad under De Rossi – that isn’t the case at all. He has ten goals under the Italian, but there comes a point at a certain juncture of a manager’s tactical evolution when a system can’t revolve around a single player anymore. That is when that player holds a system back; the team back.

History is full of examples where despite a player’s tangible output in terms of goals, the team suffered and never evolved tactical. Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United during his second stint is a classic example and clubs need to learn from it. 

As De Rossi enters his first full season of his time at the club of his dreams, his system will evolve and it would be better for him and the Giallorossi to have a more fitter and system-suited player than Dybala. 

That would indeed be a sad way to sideline a true great of the sport in Italy, but that is just how it goes.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from Serie A on FotMob – with deep stats, xG, and players ratings. Download the free app here.