The Italian reminded everyone of his quality during his club's historic European Cup win, but he's now been replaced at Parc des Princes
Paris Saint-Germain probably could have won the Champions League final without Gigi Donnarumma. But they certainly wouldn't have made it to Munich without him.
Donnarumma was immense throughout the knockout rounds. He may have only picked up one Player of the Match award along the way – for his characteristically colossal contribution to PSG's shootout success over Liverpool at Anfield – but, as his team-mates were always so quick to point out, Donnarumma was just as decisive in the ties against Aston Villa and Arsenal. Star playmaker Vitinha even called the Italian giant the team's "MVP" after the crucial 1-0 at the Emirates.
It was, thus, strange to hear Donnarumma admit after the 5-0 rout of Inter at the Allianz Arena that he didn't know if he would still be at PSG next season. "We’ll see in the next few days," he said.
A little over two months on, and the former AC Milan goalkeeper's spell at Parc des Princes appears to be well and truly over. Indeed, a "disappointed and disheartened" Donnarumma released a stunning post on Instagram on August 12 essentially confirming he was leaving, going as far as claiming that "someone has decided that I can no longer be part of the group". No prizes for guessing who that might be.
So, how on earth has it come to this? Why is Luis Enrique about to part company with Europe's best goalkeeper?
AFPJekyll & Hyde
It's important to remember that PSG were hardly a model of consistency during their Champions League campaign. In fact, their triumph can essentially be divided into two acts of starkly contrasting quality.
Luis Enrique's men were on the verge of an embarrassingly early elimination after falling 2-0 down early in the second half of their must-win meeting with Manchester City at Parc des Princes in January – and it took a sensational comeback to turn the game, and their entire tournament, around.
In that sense, there was essentially a before-City and after-City split for PSG, and the Jekyll & Hyde nature of their performances were arguably best personified by Donnarumma.
Just like PSG, he did not convince at all during the first few rounds of the league phase and, along with pretty much everyone else in Luis Enrique's starting line-up, had a shocker in the 2-0 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates on October 1. Given the dreadful overall display, the coach was in no mood to single out Donnarumma for allowing Bukayo Saka's free-kick from wide on the right wing drift past him and into the back of the net.
"Honestly, I'm not here to point fingers for the loss," Luis Enrique told reporters. "If any one person is to blame, it's me. The other team was better with their pressing and won more duels. You can't win a match if you don't win any duels. We deserved to lose."
However, Donnarumma's misjudgement only led to further debate over his status as PSG's undisputed No.1.
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There had already been murmurings during Luis Enrique's first season in charge that the Spaniard was less than impressed with Donnarumma's distribution skills and was already requesting a goalkeeper more comfortable with the ball at his feet.
He refused to admit as much publicly, of course. After one particularly calamitous week for Donnarumma featuring three mistakes in three games, Luis Enrique even took the blame for the Italy international getting himself sent off against Le Havre for a reckless foul outside the area.
"Gigio did what I asked of him. I ask the goalkeeper to cover [the final third], so if someone is responsible, it's me," the coach insisted. "Most of the time, it goes well. When it doesn't go well, though, the problem lies with me."
Getty/GOALReplacement already signed
The suspicion remained, though, that Donnarumma, for all his brilliance in between the sticks, wasn't the ideal fit for Luis Enrique's footballing philosophy. Like so many modern coaches, the former Spain midfielder wants a goalkeeper who can not only stop shots, but start attacks – and while Donnarumma excels at the former, he sometimes struggles with the latter.
Consequently, talk of PSG making a move for the more sure-footed Lucas Chevalier, which started last year, never really died down, and the France international has now completed a €40 million (£35m/$46m) transfer from Lille.
Indeed, it now seems obvious that Chevalier's arrival has rubber-stamped the decision to get rid of Donnarumma, as much as the club would've likely preferred both players to compete for the No.1 jersey over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.
Getty Images SportNo progress over new deal
Donnarumma's current contract expires next summer, and PSG had offered him an extension. The problem is that the terms of the new deal are not to the liking of either the player or his agent, Enzo Raiola.
They were expecting a renewal that rewarded Donnarumma for his key role in the historic Champions League win, but, according to , what they've been offered is a smaller guaranteed wage of €7m per annum and a potential €3m in performance-related bonuses, which, even if met, would only match the goalkeeper's current net salary (€10m a year).
Donnarumma had repeatedly stated that his "priority" was to remain in Paris. He is settled in the city where his son was born and would have happily signed a new contract – but, crucially, only if he got what he felt he has earned – which claims is €12m a year.
However, Le Parisian says that PSG effectively issued Donnarumma an ultimatum: either sign the contract on the table or find a new club.
