World Cup winner told Premier League transfer would be end of his career

Paulo Dybala has been warned against moving to the Premier League if he wants to prolong his career.

The Argentine forward could finally head to England this summer after 14 years in Italy.

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Dybala could be available on a free transfer when his Roma deal expires at the end of June.

The 32-year-old has been linked with a move to the Premier League several times during his career.

Tottenham Hotspur are amongst the clubs to have pursued signing him in the past.

Meanwhile, Liverpool also eyed a move for Dybala in both 2018 and 2021 but the transfer failed to materialise.

Dybala warning

However, European football journalist Andy Brassell believes a transfer to England now could mark the end of Dybala’s career.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, he explained: “When he was close to moving to Spurs, that would have been incredibly exciting for Spurs at the time.

“Just to put this into some sort of perspective, how good Paulo Dybala is, he is someone who would have a ton of Argentina caps if it wasn’t for Leo Messi.

“So basically, he’s the next best version of arguably the greatest, well maybe not even arguably, the greatest player of all time.

“He’s got exceptional vision, change of pace, score goals, create goals, sees passes that you can’t even see when you’re in the stand. His vision is just next level.

“Having said that, he’s 33 in November. He has started 14 Serie A games this season, mainly due to injury. Look, if Roma retain him, they’re going to retain him on reduced terms.

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“He wants to stay. He could have left for the money before. He could have gone to Saudi last summer and he didn’t.

“And there’s a connection between him and Roma. The fans love him. He loves them. I think him and his wife will really love living there as well.

“Why a player who would be one of the best in the world if he wasn’t so physically fragile would think beyond financial that it’s a good idea to come to the Premier League when he’s knocking on 33
and he can’t string together a full season in Serie A, I just don’t see it.

“The only Premier League scout who would sign him is a Premier League scout who doesn’t watch Serie A and doesn’t know anything about Dybala beyond the mixtapes.

“Because look, you can put together a mixtape that makes him look like the best player in the world. It wouldn’t be difficult because he’s had so many highlights and he’s so incredibly gifted.”

Career-ending move

Dybala has scored 131 goals across 370 Serie A appearances in his career for Palermo, Juventus and Roma.

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However, five-time Scudetto champion and World Cup winner missed a total of 17 weeks of action due to hamstring and knee injuries last season.

Due to his fitness woes, Brassell has advised the veteran playmaker against joining an English club if he wants to continue playing for as long as possible.

He added: “Honestly, he would find it really, really hard in the Premier League. I think he would struggle to last a season.

“I say that as someone who is one of his biggest fans. I want him to play as long as possible. He won’t if he comes to the Premier League.”

Dybala, who has four goals in 40 caps for Argentina, has spent the last four years with Roma.

He joined the club in 2022 after winning 12 trophies with Juventus, including five Serie A titles.