OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Paulo Dybala extends contract with Juventus through 2022

I think it’s safe to say that Paulo Dybala is having a good couple of days.

First, on Tuesday night, Dybala was the driving force behind Juventus’ shocking 3-0 win over Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal tie. His two goals were absolutely brilliant, with the young forward showing his sheer talent and class with a pair of goals that struck perfectly off his dangerous left foot and sent Juventus Stadium into euphoria a split-second later.

Thursday, as the clock struck 12 noon in Italy, Juventus announced that their Argentine jewel was going to be sticking around for a little while longer.

Juventus and Dybala have finally, at long last, come to an agreement on a contract extension, the club announced on Thursday. Dybala has officially put pen to paper on a contract extension that will tie him to Juventus through the 2021-22 season and will likely see him become of one the club’s highest-paid players. Originally thought to have been a deal that runs through 2021, Dybala’s new salary has been reported as being up there in Gonzalo Higuain territory — quite the deserved salary for one of the best in the business.

With Dybala signing his contract extension, Juventus will pay an extra €8 million to Palermo, which is tacked onto the original €32 million transfer fee they paid in the summer of 2015. The €8 million bonus will be paid in four installments, starting in the 2018-19 season.

Based on reports out of Italy late Wednesday, the day in which a proper announcement was getting close. Just about every major Italian media outlet was saying that the deal is done. Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio was reporting it. The Corriere dello Sport was reporting it. La Gazzetta dello Sport was reporting it. Tuttosport was reporting it. They were all reporting it. And they turned out to be right.

What was thought to have been included in the flurry of contract extensions that saw Daniele Rugani and Leonardo Bonucci extend their respective deals with Juventus took much, much longer than anybody could have expected. There are probably a handful of reasons as to why that happened — length of the contract, salary, potential bonuses, imaging rights — and we may never know what caused such a long wait.

But, as we know now, Dybala is a Juventus player — and will be for the foreseeable future. Whatever Paulo wants, Paulo should get. He’s becoming that important to Juventus. And that will only continue as he establishes himself as one of the game’s brightest young stars. (If he isn’t one already.)