One of the hottest prospects in European football could be on the move this summer in Gianluigi Donnarumma, but could this just be an elaborate stunt to force a higher salary?
Gianluigi Donnarumma shocked AC Milan and and put Europe’s top clubs on alert when, on Thursday, it became known that he would not be extending his current contract at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
The news puts Milan between a rock and a hard place, in that they can either let Donnarumma sit on the bench for a year and leave for free next season, or they sell him this summer at a much reduced fee.
“We are disheartened ,” said Milan’s director Marco Fassone during a press conference at Casa Milan on Thursday. “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 made a very big offer to the player, who evaluated it and today he informed us that he did not intend to renew,” Fassone added.
This is not how Donnarumma’s career was supposed to unfold. The promising shot-stopper was expected to establish himself as the Rossoneri’s No.1 for the next ten years, at least.
Now, it seems as though the club will choose to sell fast, rather than seeing their man leave for free in a year’s time.
“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.”
If Milan are going to move on, they need to act fast.
They have impressed already this summer with their spending and have already surpassed €100 million – a tally not reached by the club since 2001-02.
As surprising as this announcement is, it is hard not to feel a degree of sympathy for both parties.
For Milan, the reasons are obvious. Donnarumma was the player that this ‘new Milan’ was being built upon, and now they need to find a replacement for one of, if not the most promising young goalkeeper in Europe.
Deciding to leave Milan – should his exit come to pass- won’t have been a decision taken lightly by Donnarumma and when exactly that decision was made is one that warrants discussion.
By hiring Mino Raiola as his agent it was clear that the youngster was keen to secure a sizeable pay rise. The offer on the table was a healthy €4.5 million per annum but with the club breaking records in their summer spending, it is not difficult to understand why Raiola will have been wanting a little more for the most exciting goalkeeper in Europe.
Donnarumma’s recent comments, if believed, would suggest that the player’s intention was always to stay with Milan, and the club would, of course, have wanted to keep hold of their prized asset, which leaves fingers being pointed at the man in the middle – Mino Raiola.
As easy as it is to blame agents for inflated salaries and transfer fees, by trying to get the best terms imaginable for his client, whether you like it or not, Raiola was merely doing his job.
If he feels he can get a better offer elsewhere, it is his responsibility to find that alternative deal. Whether or not that deal can be found, however, remains to be seen.
A move to Real Madrid seems unlikely given Zinedine Zidane’s desire to keep Keylor Navas; Manchester United is also improbable for that same reason, as it also means David De Gea will likely stay put at Old Trafford.
The two that seem the most plausible are Juventus – where he will be second choice for a year until Gianluigi Buffon retires – or Paris Saint-Germain, where he will go and win Ligue 1 several times but probably won’t do much for his development.
Manchester City have just spent a record-breaking fee to sign Ederson from Benfica, while Chelsea and Barcelona are content with who they have.
If Donnarumma is to leave, he has to end up somewhere else. If he is turning down €4.5m per year, there aren’t many clubs, other than those mentioned, who can afford him.
The goalkeeper’s exit from the San Siro does look probable, but it would not be at all surprising if this was a bargaining tool taken to the extreme by Raiola. Until Gianluigi Donnarumma is posing with the shirt of another club, it might be best to refrain from overreacting.
For once, let’s just see what happens first.
