“He has great talent and I think he can do more than I did with Milan’s colours, because he is very young … Gigio has already demonstrated his value, and I think he’s going to develop even more” Dida
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Donnarumma was the starting goalkeeper for Italy’s under-17 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. The following year on 24 March, he made his debut for the under-21 side in a 4–1 win over the Republic of Ireland, becoming the youngest player ever to play for the team aged 17 years and 28 days, breaking the record previously held by Federico Bonazzoli. Though predicted to attend the 2016 UEFA European Championship, Donnarumma did not make Antonio Conte’s final squad for the tournament. On 27 August, he was called up to the senior squad by Gian Piero Ventura for a friendly against France on 1 September and a 2018 World Cup qualification match on 5 September against Israel, making him the youngest player, aged 17 years and six months, to be called up to the senior squad since 1911. On 1 September, in the match against France, Donnarumma made his senior debut, subbing out Buffon at the half-time mark of an eventual 3–1 home loss; the youngest goalkeeper to ever play for Italy aged 17 years and 189 days. On 28 March 2017, he made his first starting appearance in a 2–1 away win over the Netherlands; the youngest goalkeeper for Italy to do so aged 18 years and 31 days. In June 2017, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship by manager Luigi Di Biagio.
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Donnarumma grew up in the football academy of Club Napoli in his native Castellammare di Stabia. At age 14, he was signed for €250,000 by Milan, the team for which his elder brother, Antonio, had already played. Between 2013 and 2015, he was part of the Rossoneri youth academy, where he always played in the age group above him, beginning with the Giovanissimi, then the Allievi, and finally the Primavera. Three days before his 16th birthday, in February 2015, he received his first call-up to the senior team from manager Filippo Inzaghi; though he did not feature in the league match against Cesena, his presence on the substitutes’ bench had required a special dispensation due to his age. At the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Donnarumma was promoted to the senior team by manager Siniša Mihajlović, initially as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Diego López and Christian Abbiati. During Milan’s pre-season tour of China, he made his debut in an International Champions Cup match against Real Madrid on 30 July. Replacing López in the 72nd minute, he kept a clean sheet for the remainder of the match, but was one of two Milan players to miss his penalty shootout attempt in an eventual 10–9 loss. His subsequent starting appearance against Sassuolo in the final of the TIM Trophy saw him save two penalties in the shootout to secure Milan’s victory. Donnarumma made his competitive debut in Serie A on 25 October against Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium; chosen to start ahead of López, he helped the team achieve a 2–1 victory after three matches without a win. At the age of 16 years and 242 days, he was the second youngest goalkeeper to start a match in the history of Italian football; 13 days older than Giuseppe Sacchi, who coincidentally made his Serie A debut with Milan on the very same date, 73 years earlier. López subsequently hailed him as “the future of Milan and of Italian football”. Donnarumma kept his first clean sheet three days later in a 1–0 win against Chievo. After three successive victories featuring Donnarumma in the starting line-up, Milan avoided a defeat against Atalanta as a result of an impressive display from their goalkeeper; “Donnarumma worked miracles,” commented the Gazzetta dello Sport. His performances that year earned him a place among the top 25 of Don Balón‘s ranking of the world’s best footballers under age 21. On 15 June 2017 it was initially announced that Donnarumma would not be renewing his contract with Milan, however on 11 July, after much speculation, he renewed with Milan until 2021.
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These boots were worn by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the last games of the season 2020/2021 with A.C.Milan and during the pre Euro 2020 training sessions with Italy National Team. In the 2020–21 season, Donnarumma continued to be a starting goalkeeper (with Ciprian Tătărușanu as a primary back-up) and the team’s occasional captain, in particular during the latter part of season. He appeared in all but one game in Serie A and 11 times in the Europa League as Milan finished second and reached the round of 16, respectively. Prior to and during the season, the club’s management made numerous attempts to extend Donnarumma’s expiring contract yet failed to meet the player’s wage demands of €1 million per month as well as €20 million in agent commission for Mino Raiola and pulled out of the negotiation in late May 2021. On 26 May 2021, Milan director of football Paolo Maldini confirmed that Donnarumma would leave Milan when his contract expired on 30 June. During his time with Milan, Donnarumma made 251 appearances for the club in all competitions, keeping 88 clean sheets, and played a key role in helping the club finish second in Serie A (and qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2014) in his final season. For his performances, Donnarumma was named Lega Serie A Best Goalkeeper. On 16 June 2021, Donnarumma agreed a five-year contract with Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), as reported by Fabrizio Romano and The Guardian. According to reports, PSG offered him a salary of €12 million per season. He passed his medical in Florence on 21 June.[59] On 15 July 2021, Donnarumma officially joined PSG and signed a five-year contract until 30 June 2026.
