AC Milan have been dealt a huge blow after announcing star man Gianluigi Donnarumma will not sign a new deal with the club.
Donnarumma has been heavily linked with a move away from his boyhood team after establishing himself as one of the best young talents in European football in the last 18 months.
The 18-year-old’s current deal is due to expire at the end of next season when he will be free to leave Milan on a free transfer and the Serie A giants have now confirmed their worst fears that he will not extend his stay with Vincenzo Montella’s side.
“Raiola informed us that Donnarumma has made a definitive decision not to renew the contract with Milan,” CEO Marco Fassone declared at a press conference, via Football Italia.
“We have made a strong proposal. The player evaluated it and made some evaluations that were not just economic, but he told us that he does not wish to renew the contract and his time with Milan will therefore conclude by June 30, 2018.
“We were taken by surprise, as we had hoped Donnarumma would be the goalkeeper taking Milan into the future. Naturally, the decision leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, but now we have to go forward.”
The big question now is what happens with Donnarumma. Real Madrid and Manchester United were the frontrunners for his signature at the start of the summer but both now seem happy with their goalkeeping situation, which would rule out a potential move to one of those clubs at this moment in time.
Milan reportedly threatened Donnarumma that he would be benched for the whole of next season if he didn’t sign a new deal but that seems impractical given the Serie A giants will then lose the highly-rated goalkeeper for nothing next year when they could still command a sizeable fee this summer.
Paris Saint-Germain remain an obvious choice as they are looking to sign a new goalkeeper this summer but it remains to be seen whether Donnarumma views Ligue 1 as a viable option in his career.
Donnarumma finished his first full campaign in goal as the highest rated goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues last season (7.05).
For more stats on Gianluigi Donnarumma, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
