Paulo Dybala: His career so far in 10 magic moments

Argentina ace Paulo Dybala has joined Roma, signing a three-year contract with the Giallorossi.

The move was finally announced on Wednesday afternoon, with the 28-year-old set to join his new teammates at training camp in Portugal.

Here are just 10 highlights of the 28-year-old's wonderful career so far...

1. Where it all started

Young Dybala was born in Laguna Larga in the Argentine province of Cordoba on 15 November 1993, and he began his footballing journey at hometown club Instituto.

Dybala cited Juan Roman Riquelme and Juan Sebastian Veron as his early idols and flitted between midfield and attack in his early days before breaking into the first-team in the Instituto front-line.

He went on to make his professional debut on 13 August 2011 against Huracan, and there was no turning back from there for the 17-year-old.

2. The birth of "La Joya"

Sadly, Dybala's father passed away when he was 15 and, after uprooting to Instituto's La pensión de La Agustina academy digs, he was quickly given the nickname of El pibe de la pensión - the kid from La Pensión.

It would be the first of a number of monikers young Dybala went by, with La Joya - the jewel - and El pibe de los récords - 'The Kid of Records' - well and truly sticking once people started seeing the precocious talent strut his stuff.

In his first season as a professional, Dybala went on to break Instituto's record as the club's youngest scorer, became Instituto's first player to score two hat-tricks in a single season, and set a new record for scoring in the most consecutive league games (six).

He eventually registered 17 goals in 38 appearances for Instituto, which earned him a move to Italy, and Palermo, who he signed for on 20 July 2012.

3. Great expectations

Typically, Dybala's eye-catching breakout came with all the usual trappings of a wonderkid tag and comparisons to illustrious names both past and present.

Having beaten a number of top European clubs to Dybala's signature, then Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini proudly claimed: "He's the new [Sergio] Aguero," while Lionel Messi later said: “Paulo is a great player with a big future. We’ll be talking about him for years to come.”

Also likened to former Roma pair Javier Pastore and Vincenzo Montella, La Repubblica went on to put these comparisons to him on his arrival in Italy.

"I'm Dybala and I just want to be Dybala," was the teenager's response and, while he kept his feet on the ground, the wider world was clearly excited by the Argentine upstart's move to Palermo.

4. A homecoming of sorts

Dybala's grandfather was from Poland and first moved to Germany before settling on Argentina as his home.

As a result, Palermo's new attacker was initially looking at taking up Polish citizenship on his arrival in Sicily.

Laboured bureaucracy ultimately put an end to the process, resulting in Dybala looking to his Italian heritage on his mother's side to gain Italian citizenship.

Dybala made his Serie A debut at the Stadio Olimpico, but against Lazio, on 2 September 2012 and went on to notch his first goal for the club by hitting a brace in the 2-0 win over Sampdoria in November that year.

5. An international debut long in the making

Palermo would end up relegated from Italy's top-flight in Dybala's first season with the club, but he then contributed 11 league goals (six goals, five assists) in the 2013-14 Serie B campaign to earn he and his team the second division title.

Once back in Serie A, Dybala kicked on a gear - hitting 13 goals and providing 10 assists.

That return not only caught the attention of Juventus, but also the Argentina national team and Dybala - who could have represented Poland, Italy or Argentina and rejected a number of youth international call-ups from La Albiceleste - was given his senior debut in blue and white in October 2015.

He earned his first cap by replacing Carlos Tevez - the man whose boots he also filled in Turin - as a late substitute in Argentina's 0-0 draw with Paraguay in his nation's qualification campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

6. Now the Old Lady's jewel

"Playing for a great club like Juventus represents an important step for me," Dybala told media after signing with Juve in the summer of 2015.

"The first-team competition here means you can never ease off, which is a motivation and keeps you on your toes."

As it turned out, Dybala was the one keeping his teammates - and Serie A defenders - on their toes as he hit 21 goals in all competitions during a maiden campaign with Juve that also led to a league and cup double.

Dybala again broke his Juventus duck by scoring against the blue team from the capital in his new team's Supercoppa victory on the eve of the 2015-16 season and his 11-goal return against Lazio - Dybala's only scored more against Udinese (12) throughout his career - bodes well for future Derby della Capitale meetings.

7. Decked in gold

Dybala also said when signing for Juve: "It's the perfect club to start winning things in my career... I hope I’m able to develop into a top player here."

He did both.

By the time Dybala's contract ran its course with the Bianconeri this summer, he not only left as one of the most highly-rated players in the world, but also with five Serie A winners' medals, four Coppa Italia crowns and three super cup wins, while he also featured in the 2016-17 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

8. The personal accolades

As Juve swept up those trophies, Dybala's individual efforts were also recognised.

He was named in the Serie A Team of the Year on four occasions - a number only bettered by Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini in the award's history since it was introduced for the 2010-11 campaign.

Dybala - who has a total of 98 goals in 271 Serie A appearances and leaves Juventus with 115 strikes and 48 assists to his name in 293 outings - was the league's third-highest scorer in 2017-18 as he found the back of the net 22 times and collected the Player of the Season trophy in 2019-20 courtesy of his 11 goals and 11 assists on route to his fifth league title.

9. Success with La Albiceleste

Dybala now has 34 caps for his country and three goals, while he featured in the 2018 World Cup with a 22-minute cameo against Croatia in the Group Stage before Argentina lost out to France in the last-16.

The first of Dybala's international strikes came against Mexico three months later and he went on to score in the third-place playoff of the 2019 Copa America as La Albiceleste picked up the bronze medal.

An injury-hit 2020-21 season saw Dybala miss out on Argentina's successful Copa America glory last summer but he came off the bench to score his country's third goal as they beat Euro 2020 champions Italy in the 2022 Finalissima.

"Being able to win representing my country is great, and making people happy is even more so," Dybala told UEFA.tv after the game.

"It's wonderful to experience moments like this."

10. A Romanista

And, now, Dybala is a Romanista.

At 28, with his best years ahead of him, Roma's new No. 21 shirt joins the side on the back of Jose Mourinho leading the Giallorossi to their first major European trophy in 2021-22.

“The speed and determination with which Roma demonstrated just how much they wanted me made all the difference," Dybala said.

“I am joining a team that is on the up, a club that continues to put in place strong foundations for the future, and a coach, Jose Mourinho, that it will be a privilege to work with.

“As an opponent I have always admired the atmosphere created by the Roma fans - I now cannot wait for the chance to salute them while wearing this shirt."

Welcome to Rome, Paulo!