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. 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 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. in 2017 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. == International career ==