Gianluigi Donnarumma in action for PSG at the Club World Cup (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Poor Gigio Donnarumma! It shouldn’t have ended like this. Not in this way. All cycles must come to an end, of course, but what makes the difference is how.
It’s gone from the famous bottle of champagne that was handed out to celebrate Donnarumma’s masterful performance which brought a Champions League trophy to Paris Saint-Germain’s cabinet, to a game of passing the buck.
There must be something bigger going on, rather than just a failed agreement over a renewal of the player’s contract, which expires in June. Especially given that we’re talking about one of the richest and most powerful clubs in the world.
If you earn €12m per year, and are then offered €8m a season after being one of the club’s greatest players in recent history, it’s a way of saying ‘Move on, we don’t need you anymore’.
There’s form, and there’s a better way of ending a relationship, rather than just not calling him up for the European Super Cup final against Tottenham in Udine. Instead, there was nothing. Worse still: The situation leads to PSG signing another goalkeeper in Chevalier, paying him a fortune, as if to say: ‘Look, we know how to move on, it’s not our problem’.
But why?
One day, they will explain all of the details if they want to. For now, we have to settle for the superficial words of PSG coach Luis Enrique, who said on the eve of the Tottenham match: “We’re talking about not only one of the best goalkeepers in the world but also about a wonderful person. But, as a goalkeeper, we wanted a different profile. I made the decision and the club supported me.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma kisses the Champions League trophy (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, we’re talking about potentially one of the most unexpected free transfers of recent times.
Of course, Donnarumma could stay in Paris until his contract expires, but that doesn’t suit all…
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