Gianluigi Donnarumma has put Europe’s elite clubs on alert after deciding not to renew his contract with Milan.
The 18-year-old has made 68 Serie A appearances for the Rossoneri and four for Italy since making his breakthrough in October 2015, and some outstanding performances have attracted global interest.
Italy’s champions, Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have all shown interest in the teenager, who has another year left on his deal.
In quotes carried by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the club director Marco Fassone told a press conference: “We are disheartened. [Donnarumma’s agent] Mino Raiola has conveyed to me Donnarumma’s decision not to renew. It’s his final decision.
“In the past few days, sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli [the club’s director of sport] made a very big offer to the player, who evaluated it and today he informed us that he did not intend to renew,” added Fassone. “We were confident that Gigio would be the goalkeeper of this new Milan; a pillar upon which we would build, but now we have to re-evaluate everything.
“This decision, taken by the player and his agent, is disappointing, but we have to move on; Milan move on.”
Milan are attempting to rebuild their squad after another poor league campaign saw them finish sixth in the table.
The position was enough to seal Europa League football but under their new Chinese owner, there is a growing pressure to build a squad capable of competing domestically and in Europe.
The Portuguese striker André Silva, the Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessié and defenders Ricardo Rodriguez and Mateo Musacchio have already been recruited at some cost but Milan will need to invest in a goalkeeper if Donnarumma departs this summer.
Fassone added: “We were really hoping that Gigio would be the goalkeeper of the new-look Milan team, a pillar of what we are building here, but we will have to reevaluate things. This decision, taken by the player and his agent, makes us sad but we must move forward, Milan must move forward.”
(Guardian service)
