€40 million striker turned down Barcelona

Barcelona's interest in Juventus striker Paulo Dybala has been confirmed by Gustavo Mascardi, the man who brought Dybala to Europe.

At just 22-years-old the Argentine is already well travelled, he came through the ranks at Instituto ACC who are currently in the second division of Argentinian football.

He made the move to Europe and Italy, joining Palermo in 2012.

We won the Italian Serie B title in 2014 and overall scored 21 goals in 89 appearances before joining Juventus in 2015 for €32 million [plus €8 million in add-ons].

He scored 19 goals in 34 Serie A appearances as Juventus won the Italian league title, he also scored 2 goals in 4 appearances as Juve won the Coppa Italia.

His hot goalscoring run has seen him linked with not only Barcelona, but also Real Madrid and English Premier League side Manchester United.

But after such a successful season with Juventus, Mascardi claims that Dybala has turned down the chance to play at Camp Nou.

"When I speak with Paulo and his agent, Pierpaolo Triulzi, I know that the lad is really on the right track, A year ago Inter and AC Milan also wanted him, but he was right to choose the club which would give him more protection. Mascardi told gazzettaworld.com.

"His career at Juventus has only just begun. As for his future, the transfer market can offer a lot of temptations, but Paulo has shown himself to have clear ideas.

"It`s true that in recent months Barcelona were interested...I think they made a bid of double what the Bianconeri [black and white - Juventus] paid.

"But the player`s first consideration was that it was more important to consolidate his experience at a club which is giving him the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels."

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CREDIT TO:http://www.barca.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=568095