What’s the story?
Real Madrid are plotting to break the world record for a transfer to sign Paulo Dybala in the summer. Los Blancos are ready to bid £120 million for the striker according to reports in Spain. The striker is seen as a replacement for Karim Benzema, who has failed to live up to his expectations this season.
Los Blancos suffered a massive blow at Bernabeu on Sunday when Barcelona won 3-2 thanks to Lionel Messi scoring in the dying seconds of the game. The Madrid board are not happy with their players and have decided that the squad needs an overhaul in the summer.
In case you didn’t know...
Dybala signed a new contract at Juventus, keeping him in Turin until 2022. However, the Argentine is not happy at Juventus this season as he's no longer their #1 choice. Gonzalo Higuain, the €90 million signing from Napoli in the summer, is preferred striker for Allegri and Dybala is looking for a move away.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid fans have been asking for Krim Benzema to be sold as they do not believe he's of the club's quality anymore. This summer, their wish might be granted as reports suggest that the board and Zidane have lost patience with the French striker.
Dybala has been in top form this season and has scored 17 goals and assisted 6 for the Serie A side. He scored twice in their first-leg encounter against Barcelona, and that helped them win 3-0 on aggregate and make it to the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Apart from Dybala, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Aguero, Andrea Belotti and Antoine Griezmann have been linked with a move to Bernabeu. Of the four strikers, only the Dortmund star has admitted that he wants to join Madrid.
Barcelona are also keen on signing Dybala and want Lionel Messi to persuade the Argentine to join them. However, the Juventus man does not want to move to the Catalan giants as he believes he won't be able to make it into the starting XI ahead of Messi, Neymar and Suarez.
What’s next?
Real Madrid will do all they can to secure the signing of Dybala this summer. They might even end up offering Benzema in the deal to sweeten it. Juventus will try their best to hold on to the striker, but if the player decides that he wants to move, then it will be tough for the Serie A side to do anything.
Author’s Take
Dybala is the best young striker in the world right now without a doubt. He's tipped to win the Ballon d'Or soon, and one really can't disagree with that. It's smart that Madrid are going for a young striker like him rather than spending the same amount of money on a player nearing his 30's.
