Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for the club Roma and the Argentina national team. He is nicknamed "La Joya" ("The Jewel").
Dybala began his club career in 2011 with Instituto de Córdoba before signing for Palermo in 2012, where he won a Serie B title. In 2015, Dybala signed for Juventus and won five Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia titles. He was also named Serie A Most Valuable Player in the 2019–20 season and was named in the Serie A Team of the Year four times; Dybala ranks tied as the club's ninth-highest all-time goalscorer. In 2022, Dybala signed for Roma on a free transfer following his 7 seasons at Juventus.
Dybala made his senior debut for Argentina in 2015 at the age of 21. He has made 40 appearances and represented Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the 2019 Copa América, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, winning the latter title.
Early life Dybala was born in Laguna Larga, Córdoba, Argentina. His grandfather, Bolesław Dybała, was from the village of Kraśniów in Poland; he fled from his country of birth to Argentina during World War II. Some of his grandfather's family moved to Canada. Dybala's family also has Italian origins through his maternal great-grandmother, who was from the province of Naples.
Club career Instituto de Córdoba Nicknamed "La Joya" or "El pibe de la pensión", Dybala made his professional debut in the Primera B Nacional (Argentine second division) with his hometown club Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba at age 17. In total, he played 40 matches with the club, scoring 17 goals. He was the youngest to score a goal, beating the record of Mario Kempes. Dybala was also the first to play 38 consecutive matches in a professional league in the country (again edging Kempes), and was also the first to score two hat-tricks in a season. Dybala also scored in six consecutive games, surpassing the previous record of four matches.
Palermo On 29 April 2012, US Città di Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini announced the signing of Dybala stating, "We have got Paulo Dybala – the new Sergio Agüero." Later the same day, however, Instituto's general secretary José Teaux stated that the man who had completed the negotiations with Palermo did not have the mandate to sell Dybala. Nonetheless, on 20 July 2012 Palermo released a press announcement confirming the signing of Dybala, who signed a four-year deal with the Sicilian club. According to the financial filing of the club, the transfer fee was €8.64 million.U.S. Città di Palermo S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2013, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
Dybala made his debut for the club in a Serie A match against Lazio. He scored his first and second goal in Italy on 11 November 2012 when Palermo defeated Sampdoria at home, 2–0. Dybala had his breakthrough season in the 2014–15 Serie A where he scored ten goals in the first half of the season, forming a successful striking partnership with fellow Argentine–Italian Franco Vázquez and being linked with several top European clubs. He finished the season with 13 goals and 10 assists, which made him one of the top assist providers in the league.
Juventus 2015–2018: Transfer and three domestic doubles On 4 June 2015, Juventus announced the signing of Dybala on a five-year deal for a fee of €32 million (plus €8 million in add-ons). He was assigned the number 21 shirt, previously worn by Andrea Pirlo, who left the club that summer. On 8 August, he came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Kingsley Coman against Lazio in the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana. He scored the second goal in the 73rd minute in a 2–0 win in Shanghai. On 30 August 2015, Dybala scored his first league goal for the club in the 87th minute in a 2–1 defeat to Roma. In his first 16 appearances of the season, Dybala managed six goals and two assists in all competitions, with a ratio of a goal every 151 minutes, which was superior to Carlos Tevez's and Alessandro Del Piero's goalscoring ratios in their debut seasons with Juventus. In the club's history, only Roberto Baggio maintained a superior goalscoring record in the opening games of his debut season.
Dybala scored his first career Coppa Italia goal in a 4–0 win over cross-city rivals Torino on 16 December. On 23 February 2016, Dybala scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–2 home draw to Bayern Munich in Juventus' first round of 16 leg. On 15 March, it was announced Dybala would miss the second round of 16 leg of the Champions League against Bayern on 16 March due to an edema overload of his left soleus muscle. He returned to action four days later in a 4–1 away win over Torino, but was substituted after sustaining yet another injury. On 21 April, Dybala scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Lazio, which took his league tally to 16 goals in 31 appearances and also saw him score his 20th goal of the season in all competitions in the process. He finished the season as Juventus' top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and 19 goals in Serie A, as the club celebrated their Serie A title victory.
Following the departure of Paul Pogba to Manchester United in the summer of 2016, Dybala was offered the number 10 jersey by Juventus, although he turned it down, preferring to keep the number 21 jersey that he had worn during his previous season. Following manager Massimiliano Allegri's switch to a 4–2–3–1 formation, the 2016–17 season saw Dybala operate in a deeper playmaking role behind the club's new signing Gonzalo Higuaín, which saw a decrease in his goalscoring output as he took on increasing defensive and creative duties. After struggling to score at the beginning of the season, Dybala scored his first goal of the 2016–17 campaign on 27 September, in a 4–0 away win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. He scored his first Serie A goal of the season that weekend, on 2 October, in a 3–0 away win over Empoli.
On 11 April, Dybala scored two goals in Juventus's first-leg Champions League quarter-final fixture against Barcelona, helping the club to a 3–0 home victory. On 13 April 2017, Dybala renewed his contract with Juventus until 2022. On 3 June, Dybala started in the 2017 Champions League final, but Juventus were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid, missing out on the treble.
On 4 August 2017, Dybala was named one of the three finalists for the Forward of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award. On 9 August, Dybala was confirmed to wear the number 10 shirt for Juventus. On 13 August he scored two goals in a 3–2 defeat to Lazio in the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana. On 15 August, Dybala placed sixth in the 2017 UEFA Best Player of the Year Award. On 26 August, Dybala scored his first hat-trick in Serie A in a 4–2 away win over Genoa. He repeated the feat on 17 September, in his 100th appearance for Juventus, scoring all three goals, including one free-kick, in the club's 3–1 away win over Sassuolo, marking his second hat-trick in Serie A. On 11 March 2018, Dybala scored a brace in a 2–0 home win over Udinese in Serie A; his first goal of the match was also his 100th career goal. He made his 150th appearance in Serie A in a 0–0 away draw against SPAL, on 17 March.
2018–2022: Struggles and return to form On 1 September 2018, Dybala made his 100th Serie A appearance for Juventus, coming on as a late second-half substitute in a 2–1 away win over Parma. On 2 October, Dybala scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win over Young Boys in the Champions League. In Juventus's following Champions League group match on 23 October, Dybala scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 away win over Manchester United. With the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, Dybala was often deployed out of position in a deeper role by manager Allegri during the 2018–19 season; as a result of this positional switch, as well as struggles with injuries, and difficulties with his manager, Dybala suffered a loss of form, and his goalscoring output decreased significantly, as he managed to score only five goals in 30 league matches, and 10 goals across 42 appearances in all competitions. However, Juventus managed to retain the Serie A title.
Following a disappointing 2018–19 campaign, Dybala was initially linked with a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, although he ultimately remained with Juventus for the 2019–20 season. Although he was initially not expected to start under the club's new manager Maurizio Sarri, he eventually broke into the first XI and scored his first goal of the season on 6 October 2019, in a 2–1 away win over rivals Inter, to help his side overtake the Nerazzurri at the top of the Serie A table. On 7 December, he made his 200th appearance for Juventus in a 3–1 away defeat to Lazio in Serie A.
In the 2020 Coppa Italia final against Napoli on 17 June, following a 0–0 draw after regulation time, Dybala missed Juventus's first spot-kick in the resulting shoot-out, with his shot being saved by Alex Meret; Napoli ultimately won the match 4–2 on penalties. At the end of the season, Dybala was awarded the Serie A MVP award for the 2019–20 season. He finished the campaign with 11 goals and 6 assists, helping Juventus win their 9th consecutive title.
On 20 October 2020, Dybala made his first appearance of the new season in Juventus's opening Champions League game, coming on as a second–half substitute in a 2–0 away win over Dynamo Kyiv. Dybala scored his first goal of the season on 4 November against Ferencváros in a 4–1 win during a Champions League group stage match.
Prior to the start of the 2021–22 season, he was named vice-captain of the team. On 21 March 2022, Juventus chief executive officer Maurizio Arrivabene announced that the club had decided not to renew Dybala's contract which would expire in the summer, citing changes in the club's project following the arrival of striker Dušan Vlahović earlier that year. After being sidelined for months due to injury, Dybala made his return on 7 April 2021, scoring the winning goal of a 2–1 home win over Napoli. On 12 May, he scored a goal in a 3–1 away win over Sassuolo, to reach his 100th goal for Juventus in all competitions, hence he became the first non-European player in doing so. On 15 May 2022, Dybala announced on social media that he would leave Juventus at the end of the season. Dybala played his final home match for Juventus on 16 May 2022 against Lazio, being substituted by Martin Palumbo in the 78th minute, for which he received a standing ovation.
Roma On 20 July 2022, Dybala signed for Roma on a three-year contract that runs until 30 June 2025. On 14 August, he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away win against Salernitana in the Serie A. On 31 May, he scored the first goal of the 2023 UEFA Europa League final, which Roma eventually lost on penalties to Sevilla.
On 26 February 2024, he scored his first hat-trick for the club, in a 3–2 home win against Torino in Serie A. On 18 April, he scored his 50th goal for the club in a 2–1 home win against AC Milan in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, which saw Roma advance to the semi-finals of the competition. Following rumours linking him with a move to the Saudi Pro League, Dybala remained at Roma for the final year of his contract, with media outlets labeling him "central" to manager Daniele de Rossi's project.
In January 2025, an automatic extension clause in his contract was activated, allowing him stay with the club until 30 June 2026 on his reported base salary of €8 million per year. On July 13, 2026, Dybala signed a one-year extension.
International career