Can Paulo Dybala still be a hero anywhere but Juventus? He should avoid Ronaldo

Paulo Dybala bid a tearful farewell to Juventus but most of the fans were just mourning the exit of Giorgio Chiellini. It hasn’t quite worked.

Tears streamed down Paulo Dybala’s face as he realised the curtain had fallen on his Juventus career after Monday’s 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Allianz Stadium. All in all, an inconsistent seven years in Turin meant that he didn’t get the send-off he perhaps envisioned when he arrived from Palermo in 2015. There were times when he looked like one of the best young talents in Europe, and others when his presence felt like an anchor to a successful, yet slightly disappointing era in the club’s modern history.

It spoke volumes that the other man waving goodbye to the Bianconeri, Giorgio Chiellini, was getting all the love. A legend is leaving at the same time as a talent, when perhaps in another world, two legends might have left together. He had his moments – two goals against Barcelona in the 2017 Champions League quarter final immediately spring to mind – but ultimately he leaves somewhat unfulfilled, having entered the back end of his peak years still desperately looking for a career-defining moment. If Juve had gone on to become champions of Europe that year, beating Real Madrid in Cardiff, he may have got that moment. Not for the last time, Cristiano Ronaldo stole his thunder.

Dybala joined after Juve had lost in the final to Luis Enrique’s treble-winning Barcelona side two years earlier. But with the departures of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and, a year later, Paul Pogba, it was hard to view him as the man to push them over the edge. Instead, he was a player to help them change course as their ageing squad began to dismantle. After losing that night in Berlin, it still seemed