AC MILAN WERE left fuming today when their highly-rated 18-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma said he would not sign an extended contract with the Italian giants.
Considered the heir to Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Donnarumma is a target for a number of top clubs and making him the pillar of the club’s future with an extended contract had been Milan’s number one priority.
“Mino Raiola (the player’s agent) has just told me there will be no extension with Donnarumma and that the decision is definitive,” the club’s general manager Marco Fassone told reporters after a 40-minute meeting with Raiola.
“We are bitterly disappointed about the decision, but we move on, Milan move on.”
Italian media have speculated the ‘keeper will be sold this summer with Raiola citing interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain.
Raiola is also the agent of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. He drew heavy criticism from Alex Ferguson who blamed the agent for leading the Frenchman away from Old Trafford in 2012.
“There are one or two football agents I simply do not like and Mino Raiola is one of them,” Ferguson wrote in his book ‘Leading’.
I distrusted him from the moment I met him. We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco.
“He and I were like oil and water. From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
