Paulo Dybala Reflects on His Journey with Roma and Mourinho's Impact
Paulo Dybala has never hidden how deeply Rome has got under his skin. Now, on the verge of signing a new contract with Roma, he has lifted the curtain a little further on why the capital became his stage – and why José Mourinho sits at the heart of that story.
Speaking to YouTuber Davoo in an interview relayed by Corriere dello Sport, the Argentine forward went straight to the point when asked about his former coach.
“Mourinho is a genius and a great person. He always spoke to us with respect, he took care of us, he loved us, and in Rome the people fell in love with him for what he gave. Thanks to him, I arrived in the capital.”
That last line tells you everything. Dybala did not drift to Roma. Mourinho pulled him there, using his aura and his man-management to convince one of the most gifted attackers of his generation to swap Turin for the Giallorossi. The bond between the two, forged quickly and publicly, became one of the defining images of Mourinho’s spell at the club.
Dybala’s admiration, though, is not reserved for coaches alone. The World Cup offered him another reference point inside the Roma dressing room: El Ayanoui, his club teammate and a central figure for Morocco on the biggest stage.
“He’s having a great World Cup, I’m following him. And at Roma, besides saying he’s a strong player, he’s also a good guy.”
It is a simple line, but it underlines a truth often lost in the noise around tactics and transfers: Dybala values character as much as talent. In a squad that has changed faces and direction, those internal relationships matter.
The conversation then moved to a wound that has not fully healed. The Europa League final against Sevilla still sits heavy on Dybala’s shoulders, and the name of referee Anthony Taylor inevitably surfaced.
“It’s true, the handball was absurd, but that wasn’t the only thing that happened during the match. There were several moments when the referee called strange things: he didn’t issue any cards, he was very lenient with some Sevilla players. And then that handball would have rewritten the final result if he had awarded the penalty. It really hurt me to lose that final.”
No diplomatic gloss there. The forward remains convinced that key decisions distorted the balance of the night. The non-penalty for handball is the moment that lingers, but for Dybala it formed part of a broader pattern: a lenient approach towards Sevilla, a series of “strange” calls that, in his eyes, chipped away at Roma’s chances.
For a player who helped drag Roma to that final with moments of pure quality, the sense of injustice cuts deep. The pain is not just about a lost trophy; it is about a feeling that the contest slipped beyond the control of the players who had earned the right to decide it.
Now, as he prepares to commit his future again to Roma, Dybala stands at a crossroads familiar to many leaders in a dressing room. Mourinho has gone, the squad is evolving, and the scars of Budapest remain. The genius who brought him to the capital is no longer on the bench – but the ambition that move symbolised still hangs over the club.
The question is no longer why Dybala chose Rome. It is what he and Roma can still win together, with those memories of a lost European final driving the next chase for silverware.
