Ahead of Juventus’ match against Inter Milan, legendary Michel Platini made an outrageous claim about Paulo Dybala’s talents to motivate him.
Perhaps Platini is doing it to motivate him, but Paulo Dybala doesn’t need the type of pressure he just got from the Juventus legend. Ahead of Sunday’s match against Inter Milan, the former UEFA president offered an interview to Gazzetta dello Sport and spoke about Paulo. There have always been comparisons that make people question everything, but this one is out of proportion. Comparing Dybala with some of the players Platini just did is simply outrageous.
At least we know where the Frenchman stands in terms of who he considers the best players in football history. For him, there is no getting to Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo’s level. At least we have that to agree with Platini. But comparing Paulo to Maradona is simply a mistake, regardless if the former star played against the Argentine many times.
Platini’s outrageous Dybala comparisons.
“I like Paulo a lot. He’s part of the category of players like Maradona, [Omar] Sivori, Neymar… he may have a little less talent, but let’s see,” Platini told Gazzetta dello Sport. “He’s not Ronaldo, he’s not Messi and he’s not a regista, he’s an offensive playmaker who plays as a striker. The Argentine’s very good on the pitch and he’s fresh-faced. He comes across as a likable lad. It’s interesting that he has matched me for goals and appearances in Serie A. Figures are one thing but we’re different players.
“I always try to avoid comparisons, but I can say that he’s definitely better than me in one thing: he’s 40 years younger! He’s also more of an attacker than I was, he’s a forward. They can play him wherever they want but he’s still a forward. He also scores enough goals. I was a midfielder who scored lots of goals, a team player who drove everyone else on, more than Dybala. It’s not that he doesn’t but he’s an attacker. He’s not Platini. He’s more… Maradona-esque.”