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Simply because of who Gianluigi Donnarumma is, how young he still is and who he currently employs as his agent, there was always going to be some sort of bidding war no matter how interested Juventus was in bringing in the young Italian goalkeeper. Donnarumma was going to get paid no matter where he went, it was just a matter of how much and who would be signing those paychecks.
We seem to reaching a conclusion.
We heard a few days back that Donnarumma’s future would likely be determined before the start of Euro 2020 (in 2021). And, based on what Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio and Fabrizio Romano are saying Monday night, that future looks like it’s in Paris. Romano is reporting that Donnarumma’s deal with Paris Saint-Germain is through 2026 and worth up to €12 million net a season with add-ons. Earlier in the day, Alfredo Pedulla of SportItalia and La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that PSG’s offer was upward of €10 million, essentially matching what we heard what Juventus had offered Donnarumma late last month.
Added Di Marzio: PSG’s big-time bid has meant Juve’s been stepping away from any negotiations for a couple of days now and they plan to stick with Wojciech Szczesny come the start of the 2021-22 season.
PSG are now close to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma. The agreement is ‘imminent’ - PSG working to complete the deal soon, already planning for medicals in Italy NT camp. #PSG @DiMarzio @SkySport
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2021
Interest but still no bid from Barça and Juve - Szczesny and ter Stegen are staying.
If you believe the reports, Juventus’ interest in Donnarumma depended a lot on their ability to sell Szczesny, who is earning €7.5 million a season and has a contract that runs through 2024. Szczesny, 31, said Sunday that he hadn’t heard anything from Juventus when it came to his future or if he was even a candidate to leave Juventus this summer.
But, now it’s pretty clear: Szczesny is staying and PSG’s financial muscle ruled the day.
Even with Juventus reportedly offering €10 million a season, once PSG entered the chat it was always going to be a tough negotiation process to match them. That’s just how those who run PSG roll, and offering a contract worth an annual salary of potentially €12 million for a goalkeeper of Donnarumma’s talent level is really no big deal at all.
Basically, when PSG enters a bidding war like this and Raiola is the agent involved, then he’s going to go where the money is. And that’s in Paris, not Turin.