In a surprising turn of events on Thursday evening, Argentine forward Paulo Dybala reversed his decision to move to the Saudi Arabian league to play for Al-Qadsia in a deal worth €75 million for three years, and instead chose to stay with his current team, Roma, as he confirmed on his Instagram account.
After bidding farewell to his teammates on Thursday and leaving the "Trigoria" training center "visibly emotional," according to Italian media, Dybala surprised everyone later that evening by retracting his decision to join Al-Qadsia, which had offered him an extremely lucrative salary of €75 million for three seasons, or €25 million per season, according to reports.
Conflicting reports emerged regarding the reason the deal with Al-Qadsia fell through. Some media outlets claimed that Dybala himself refused the move to the Saudi league, while others suggested that Roma canceled the deal because they were dissatisfied with receiving only €3-4 million plus performance-based bonuses for the Argentine forward, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Dybala's contract with the capital club, which runs until the summer of 2025, includes a release clause allowing him to leave for €12 million, but this clause expired on July 31. The contract also has an automatic renewal option for an additional season with the same salary if he plays 14 official matches for the team this season, according to "Football Italia."
In a video posted on Instagram on Thursday, Dybala included the caption, "Thank you, Roma... See you on Sunday," referencing Roma's upcoming match against Empoli in the second round of the Italian league.
Roma fans gathered outside Dybala's home to thank him for deciding to stay with the capital club, according to a video circulated by Italian media on Thursday night.
Dybala’s departure from Roma seemed certain on Thursday morning after a video was shared showing him leaving the "Trigoria" training center, where a group of fans were waiting to bid him farewell in what was thought to be his final appearance before leaving the team he joined in the summer of 2022 from Juventus.
The "Forza Roma" website, which specializes in Roma news, reported that Dybala was "clearly emotional" as he left the training facility, while "Corriere dello Sport" and "Sky Sport" revealed that the Argentine said goodbye to his teammates on Thursday and did not participate in the morning training session, focusing only on physical exercises.
"Corriere dello Sport" noted that Roma and Al-Qadsia continued negotiations over Dybala until after midnight on Wednesday-Thursday, then resumed talks in the morning, hoping to reach a quick agreement, especially since Roma coach Daniele De Rossi wanted no unresolved issues ahead of Sunday’s match against Empoli.
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Dybala has played 78 matches for Roma across all competitions, scoring 34 goals since joining from Juventus, where he spent seven seasons, made 293 appearances, scored 115 goals, and won five Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2017.
Dybala, whose career at Juventus was marred by injuries, was part of the squad for Roma's first league match against Cagliari on Sunday (0-0) and came on as a substitute in the 69th minute.
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