Dybala insists he never insulted Mourinho after the match with Man United

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Juventus forward Paulo Dybala insists he never insulted Jose Mourinho – “I just told him that there was no need to make that gesture”.

The Manchester United manager cupped his ear to the Bianconeri fans after his side’s win on Wednesday, and was accosted by La Joya and Leo Bonucci.

“I just told him that there was no need to make that gesture,” Dybala insisted, speaking to Sky.

“There was no need to create more tension than there already was, sometimes you get insulted and it’s bad, but to create more tension than there already is…

“I told him there was no need, I didn’t insult him. I just told him that and left.”

Juve face Milan at the weekend, and Dybala looked ahead to that match.

“I think we both come into it in good shape, both teams are doing very well in all competitions and I’m sure it’ll be a great match like Milan-Juve always is.

“We hope to play a great game and take home the three points.

“Gonzalo Higuain? We spoke a couple of days ago and it’s a strange feeling. I already knew him, then we played together and we won so many trophies together.

“So obviously it’ll be strange to come up against him as an opponent, each will do his best for the shirt he’s in.

“I haven’t asked him about his injury, but we’re talking with the other l ads. Douglas [Costa] and I even sent him a jokey video, because we always hung out together, but we’re waiting for an answer.”

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Dybala had an inconsistent start to the season, but he’s been much better in recent weeks.

“The boss [Max Allegri] has given us a little more freedom to move around and I think that way we can do more damage to our opponents.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who moves to the left more, but he moves around a lot and in fact the goal I scored in Manchester came from his cross from the right.

“When Mario [Mandzukic] plays he’s more of a reference point, and then there’s also Douglas and [Federico] Bernardeschi, so we have a lot of options in attack.

“I think the Coach definitely finds it difficult to put all of us in, because we’re playing really well and there’s a really good level in attack. I don’t think it’s easy for him.”

La Joya wears the famous Juve number 10 shirt, and today is the 44th birthday of arguably its most famous bearer, Alessandro Del Piero.

Last year Pinturrichio challenged the Argentine to a free-kick tournament, with Gianluigi Buffon in goal.

“I’m waiting for him!” Dybala said.

“I sent him a message, because I always want to take the opportunity to thank him, because he’s a great guy who always talks really nicely about me.

“It makes me happy because he’s a great player and a great person, then there’s what he represents as a player, and not just for Juventus.

“I hope one day we can find a way to do this challenge, it’s already been a while. We can do it in America or Argentina!”

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