Tottenham transfer for Paulo Dybala OFF as Spurs miss out on Juventus star
Tottenham gave up hope of signing the Paulo Dybala on Thursday afternoon due to insurmountable difficulties with his image rights and Juventus' apparent reluctance to sell the forward without a replacement.
Spurs were confident they had agreed a fee with the Italian club and found a way to meet the 25-year-old's £300,000-a-week wage demands but the deal petered out hours before the 5pm transfer deadline.
Unlike Premier League players, Dybala's image rights are not owned by his club, but by a third party – the Malta-based Star Image Company, who are demanding a multi-million fee to relinquish them.
Star Image are owned by Dybala’s former agent, Pierpaolo Triulzi.
The situation was understood to be a legal minefield and, although Spurs explored the possibility of sorting the image rights after completing the transfer, that option now seems impossible.
In Pictures | Tottenham's summer transfer business
Signing Dybala was always going to be a remarkable coup for Spurs, particularly after United failed in a move for the Argentina international last week.
