Palermo president urges Paulo Dybala to leave Juventus

by
Giorgio Perottino / Reuters

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini wrote a letter to Juventus forward Paulo Dybala urging him to leave the club he joined just a few months ago.

The Serie A champion signed the 21-year-old from Palermo for €32 million this summer, but he has played more games as a substitute (six) than a starter (five).

Zamparini, who previously called Dybala the "new Messi," is "annoyed" at the way Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has so far handled the player.

"I'm really annoyed with Allegri because he's ruining a champion," Zamparini told Italian newspaper Tuttosport. "When somebody personifies football like (Lionel) Messi does, then they should be given liberty and not forced into certain tactics."

Allegri has on several occasions fielded fellow summer signings Mario Mandzukic and Simone Zaza over Dybala - a questionable decision among fans and Zamparini alike.

Dybala will need a chance to contribute much more if he wants to match his numbers from last season, when he was one of only four players in Serie A with goals and assists in the double digits.

"I've written to Paulo telling him to ask Juve to send him elsewhere," Zamparini added. "I've told him to make friends with the veterans, who I think are jealous of him. Allegri is destroying the work that (former Juventus manager Antonio) Conte did."

As if his remarks weren't extraordinary enough, the 74-year-old president added that Dybala would look better as an Inter Milan player.

"They've got a Scudetto-winning coach, and (Roberto) Mancini, for example, would play Dybala all the time, and maybe they would win the Scudetto," Zamparini said.

- With translations from ESPN FC

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