Paris Saint-Germain are ready to sell Gianluigi Donnarumma just weeks after the Italian played a starring role in the Champions League.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Galatasaray have all been linked with a move for the 26-year-old shot-stopper, who is a proven big-game performer.
Never was that more evident than during PSG’s charge to win the European Cup for the first time. Donnarumma played a key role with several stellar performances when the chips were down, notably frustrating Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa as the Premier League sides tried to mount comebacks when Luis Enrique’s men were rocking.
It was a display that will likely earn the former AC Milan man the Yashin Prize as the world’s best goalkeeper.
But if his performances have been so good, what’s caused this rift with PSG and why are the club not doing more to patch it up?
Donnarumma’s PSG contract dispute
Donnarumma’s contract expires in 2026 and PSG are keen to avoid a repeat of the situation they experienced with Kylian Mbappe, when the attacker left on a free transfer to Real Madrid.
The Italy star has been offered a new contract but it has not been accepted by Donnarumma’s camp, which is led by agent Enzo Raiola.
According to L’Equipe, PSG are willing to match his current wages of €10.2 million per year, but much of this would be tied into how many games he plays. It’s suggested that as much as one-third of his salary will come in what amount to appearance payments. This is standard policy at the club. Donnarumma is unwilling to accept this.
Why won’t PSG go bigger?
While Donnarumma might have impressed on the big stage, his performance level overall last season was remarkably mediocre.
His save percentage in Ligue 1 was only 67.6% while he actually conceded more goals than expected in France’s top flight. Even in the Champions League, he only prevented 0.15 more goals than expected based on shot quality. Glaring errors early in the competition against PSV and Atletico Madrid even had the Parisians on the verge of an embarrassing early exit.
Given his weakness with the ball at his feet and persistently unconvincing nature from crosses, he is, quite simply, not indispensable to PSG.
Under pressure, he’s a monster, but when he is not forced to concentrate, he can become a liability.
PSG are instead throwing their lot in with young Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier. He provided heroics of his own in the Champions League last season as LOSC beat Real Madrid 2-1 at home. He is an exciting goalkeeper with a flamboyant nature but does come with some risk. At 23, his is still prone to the occasional lapse.
Nevertheless, it appears that PSG feel that Chevalier offers better value in the long term than Donnarumma, whose bright Champions League displays have hidden the underlying weaknesses in his game.
Football transfer news headlines today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
