Donnarumma row reopens old wounds

Milan goalkeeper claims ‘ethical abuse’ after signing $7m contract

The contract soap opera that engulfed AC Milan and their promising young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer has come back to haunt the Serie A giants just as they try to get their faltering season back on track.

Milan, seventh and 11 points off the Champions League places, travel to Verona on Sunday looking to build on two wins in a row in league and cup after a torrid first half to their campaign.

But despite Gennaro Gattuso’s side beating Bologna 2-1 last weekend and hammering Verona at home in the Italian Cup on Wednesday, it is Donnarumma that is dominating the headlines in Italy.

The relationship between the 18-year-old, considered the heir to Gianluigi Buffon after the veteran Juventus stopper’s retirement from international soccer, his agent Mino Raiola and the club is back in the spotlight.

Earlier this week, it was reported that he claimed to have suffered “ethical abuse” in July when he signed a contract renewal worth 6 million euros ($7.1 million) a year.

The Corriere Della Sera claimed that Raiola wanted the contract canceled because of the pressure to sign allegedly piled on him by Milan.

A tearful Donnarumma had to be consoled by captain Leonardo Bonucci in the dressing room after being pelted with abuse by Milan fans before Wednesday’s 3-0 Italian Cup beating of Verona at the San Siro and on Thursday evening the teenager denied everything on Instagram.

“I’ve never said nor wrote that I suffered ethical abuse when I signed my contract,” he said.

The fans behind the goal Donnarumma kept in the first half on Wednesday had aimed a series of insulting chants at the stopper and unfurled a banner that made their feelings crystal clear.

“Ethical abuse with six million a year and a contract for your parasite brother? Go now, our patience has run out!”

The “parasite” the home fans were referring to is Antonio Donnarumma, the 27-year-old brother of Gianluigi and former Piacenza and Bari goalkeeper – as well as Milan youth product – who was signed from Greek side Asteras Tripoli on an eyebrow-raising four-year-deal with a reported salary of 1 million euros the day after the younger Donnarumma signed his renewal.

After Wednesday’s match, sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli launched into Raiola, calling him the cause of “the rot” between Donnarumma and Milan and claiming that the agent was trying to manipulate a lucrative transfer for his client.

“We don’t have to sell anyone and no-one can hold us by the throat,” Mirabelli told reporters.