Paulo Dybala is the new Lionel Messi and he should join Real Madrid, according to former Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini, who says the Juventus star should seek a January move. Dybala’s future at Juve has been the subject of much speculation in recent months, with his current contract at the Allianz Stadium set to expire in 2022.

Bianconeri sporting director Fabio Paratici has insisted that the Argentine is in line for a new deal, but he continues to be linked with a transfer away from Turin amid reported interest from the likes of Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain.

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The 26-year-old’s position has not been helped by a lack of regular minutes at the start of the season, with Andrea Pirlo only handing the midfielder three Serie A appearances to date. Goal 50 Revealed: The best 50 players in the world 

Zamparini cannot understand why a man he considers to have all the tools to follow in the footsteps of Barcelona and Argentina legend Messi is not starting every week at Juve and has urged him to move onto pastures new in order to unlock his full potential.

The former Palermo chief told Tuttosport: “I am still convinced that he is the new Messi. Dybala, as well as a champion, is a very good guy. And I can’t understand why many insiders tend to forget him. “That Dybala is not a starter in Serie A is a blasphemy. Paulo should have followed my advice three years ago, to move away from Turin.

“I told him clearly: ‘Paulo, for your own sake, you must leave Juventus’. His football is fantasy [and is best suited to] Spain, at either Barcelona or Real Madrid. “But he has always told me he feels good at Juventus.”

Zamparini went on to suggest Madrid as the ideal next destination for Dybala, who joined Juve from Palermo in 2015, with it his belief that the talented playmaker needs to step out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow as soon as possible. “The advice I give him today is the same: ‘Paulo, leave Juventus and go to Real Madrid’. Maybe as early as January. It would be a deal [that is good] for everyone,” he said.

“For him and also for Juventus, who already tried to sell him two summers ago. Paulo is a champion and not a deputy. At Juventus, there is Cristiano Ronaldo, a real phenomenon, and Dybala has to go and play [against] Ronaldo in another big team.”

Goal.com