The story began when Gigio Donnarumma followed his heart and signed with Milan and it could end with the club's return to the Champions League.
The Italy international helped Milan secure a place in the Champions League next season, but he might not participate, as his contract expires on June 30.
The Rossoneri shot stopper seems destined to leave San Siro this summer, as the renewal doesn’t arrive, and the club has already acted to bring LOSC Lille’s Mike Maignan to the fashion capital.
Donnarumma was close to joining local rivals Inter, but his heart led him to the youth teams at Milanello, and the first of his 251 games came under Sinisa Mihajlovic’s reign.
The Serbian coach decided to bench Diego Lopez and start the 16-year-old against Sassuolo, a match that ended in a 2-1 win for the Diavolo.
His adventure in Rossonero started at only 16 years, eight months and eight days and the comparison to Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon immediately arrived.
But after having secured a place in the Europa League, the controversy started for 18-year-old Donnarumma, who could sign his first professional contract with the club.
During the European U21 Championship the rumours and criticism started, as Milan fans were angry with the high salary demands from the young shot stopper.
Some Milan fans were even throwing fake money at him during the match against Denmark. But Donnarumma didn’t let the controversy distract his performances at any level.
The goalkeeper eventually renewed with Milan on a deal worth €6m a season, a massive salary for such a young player.
He continued to develop into the fine goalkeeper he is today and at 19 years old he became a starter at the national team, where he had already beaten Gianluigi Buffon’s record in September 2016.
He replaced the veteran in a friendly against France and later became the youngest starter for Italy against the Netherlands on March 28, 2017.
The expectations continued to put pressure on Donnarumma and his personal ambitions were always questioned, as Milan struggled to reach previous heights.
But that was until Stefano Pioli arrived in 2019, and the new coach even handed Gigio the captaincy in Alessio Romagnoli’s absence against Atalanta. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, but the goalkeeper admitted he was ‘proud’ of wearing the armband.
Donnarumma never signed a new deal with the club, and the reports highlighted he asks for €10m a season to commit to the Rossoneri, an amount the club hasn't been able to match.
Agent Mino Raiola is known to drive a hard bargain and rumours of a move to Juventus gave Milan fans another reason to attack the goalkeeper ahead of the important game against the Old Lady this spring.
Milan won 3-0 at the Allianz Stadium, but fans had confronted Donnarumma before the game and asked him not to play against their rivals, as they were both fighting for a place in the Champions League.
MilanNews reported Donnarumma already said goodbye to his teammates after the 2-0 win over Atalanta, but it is still to be understood whether the talented goalkeeper will play in the Champions League with the Rossoneri next season or if he will find a new club as a free agent in July.