Massimiliano Allegri believes Paulo Dybala lost his way at Juventus after trying to emulate his compatriot, Lionel Messi.
Dybala, 28, said a tearful goodbye to Juventus earlier this month after seven years in Turin. He was viewed as one of Europe's finest players after a stellar 2017-18 campaign - scoring 26 goals - but managed just 20 during his last two years at the club combined.
The Argentine has picked up just three senior caps for his country during the last two-and-a-half years as a result of his form - missing their Copa America victory last summer - and is now without a club after failing to agree to new terms with the Old Lady, with whom he won five Serie A titles.
Despite showing him the door, Allegri believes Dybala can return to the top of European football if he 'goes back to being himself' and forgets trying to emulate Messi. The 34-year-old is one of the greatest footballers of all time, winning the Ballon d'Or seven times.
"Dybala has to go back to being himself," Allegri told DAZN, as quoted by GOAL. "There was a moment when he got carried away by being the new Messi. You cannot copy or emulate someone else. Paulo has a lot to give to football, he has extraordinary technical qualities, but he has to go back to focusing on the latter."
Although Dybala's form has dipped, he still boasts a fabulous CV. As well as his five league titles, he won four Italian Cups and three Italian Super Cups during his time at Juventus. He also reached the Champions League final in 2016-17 and was named Serie A's MVP in 2019-20.
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The former Palermo forward has been linked with Juventus' domestic rivals Inter Milan and Roma, as well as Premier League giants Arsenal. "Of course we’re hoping that Paulo Dybala can play for us," Inter's CEO Beppe Marotta has said in recent days.
Juventus, meanwhile, are looking to dominate Italian football again. They won nine consecutive Serie A titles between 2011 and 2020 but finished fourth and were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 in each of the last two years.
Despite this, Allegri is confident his team are better than their rivals and can challenge for the title next term. The Italian was responsible for winning Juventus' last five Serie A titles. He resigned from his position in May 2019 but returned two years later.
"Milan, Inter and Napoli finished ahead of us in the standings but they were not superior to us," said Allegri. "We lacked something in terms of character or management."
On his return to Juventus, Allegri added: "I had set myself the challenge of returning. A challenge that I want to win together with the club and the fans, returning to triumph in Italy and in Europe."
AC Milan are the Serie A champions after clinching their first title in 11 years on the final day of the season, winning 3-0 at Sassuolo. Inter, Napoli and Juventus have qualified for the Champions League, while Lazio and Roma will compete in the Europa League.
