MadridPaulo Dybala hardly needed any extra motivation after helping Juventus reach the Champions League final but then, 24 hours after the Bianconeri had seen off Monaco in Turin, Real Madrid survived a scare against city rivals Atletico to book their place in Cardiff.
It was Los Blancos, after all, whom Dybala had gone to see get beaten by Barcelona at Camp Nou in March 2015. The Argentine had been a long-time admirer of the Catalan club.
He publicly admitted that Blaugrana were of two clubs he nearly always picked when playing football games on the Playstation – interestingly, Manchester City were the other – and, just months before his first Clasico, he confessed that he would “swim to Barcelona and play without a contract” if they wanted to sign him from Palermo.
As a result, Barca’s reported interest, coupled with the Camp Nou selfie, sparked speculation that the forward’s “dream” might just come true.
Two months later, Dybala was in Berlin, where Barca completed a treble with a 3-1 victory over Juve, but he was there as a guest of the Old Lady, after agreeing a 40 million transfer to Turin.
The 23-year-old has since become a huge fan favourite at the Juventus Stadium, his popularity only enhanced by his stunning two-goal salvo during Juve’s blitz of Barca in the first leg of this year’s Champions League quarter-finals.
However, having eliminated his beloved Blaugrana, one can be sure that Dybala will be even more determined to ensure that he remains in the Catalan’s good books by taking down their great rivals in Cardiff this weekend.
It would still be slightly bittersweet for Dybala because as well as being a childhood fan of Real coach Zinedine Zidane admitting that he would have relished the opportunity to play alongside the iconic No.10 he remains close with former Juve striker Alvaro Morata, as underlined by the fact that he liked an Instagram photo of the Spaniard celebrating his side qualifying for the Cardiff final.
Earlier this season, there were even reports that Real were keen to reunite Morata and Dybala in Madrid, only for the latter to commit his future to Juve by signing a new contract in April.
As such, the Argentina international will be determined to ensure that it is Juve who are victorious on Saturday night, as it would not only bring joy to the Bianconeri fans who have taken him to their hearts, but also Barca supporters everywhere.
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