Gianluigi Donnarumma Biography

Gianluigi Donnarumma, born on February 25, 1999, in Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, is an Italian international football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Italy and the club AC Milan. Donnarumma started his football in the youth academy of AC Milan. The goalkeeper played his Serie A debut on October 25, 2015, with Milan winning 2-1 at their own San Siro stadium. Donnarumma went on to play the entire match and amazed the Milan fans. In the seasons that followed, he grew into AC Milan's undisputed number one.

Throughout his first season, Donnarumma managed to play 30 matches, conceding 29 goals. At the start of October 2016, Donnarumma earned the award for the best talent from the British newspaper The Guardian. He played the full season in every league match in both the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons and finished sixth in the league with Milan in both seasons. He gained his first experience at the international club level in 2017/18 in the Europa League after qualifying successfully. He did not renew his contract, which was due to expire on June 30, 2021.

All You Need to Know About Gianluigi Donnarumma Biography

Donnarumma has played in all youth ranks of the Italy national team. It was on September 1, 2016, that Donnarumma first played for the senior national team in a 3-1 loss to France in a friendly match, coming on as a second-half substitute for Gianluigi Buffon. At 17, this made him the youngest goalkeeper to appear in a senior international match for Italy to date and the youngest player to play for them in 105 years.

Gianluigi Donnarumma Information

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Gianluigi Donnarumma nationality

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Gianluigi Donnarumma Bio

• Full Name: Gianluigi Donnarumma

• Nickname: Gigio

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Gianluigi Donnarumma Physical Stats

• Weight: 90 Kg

• Height: 1.96 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Dark Brown

Gianluigi Donnarumma Football Information

• Position: Goalkeeper

• Jersey Number: 99

• Professional Debut: 2015

Gianluigi Donnarumma Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 25 February 1999

• Birth Place: Castellammare di Stabia, Italy

• Zodiac Sign: Pisces

• Nationality: Italian

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Gianluigi Donnarumma Early Life

He was raised at the Club Napoli football school in his native Castellammare di Stabia, then in 2013, when he was 14 years old, AC Milan signed him for €250,000, a club he had always been a fan of and where his brother Antonio had already played in the youth academy.

In the Rossoneri youth academy, between 2013 and 2015, he constantly played with boys older than him: first in the Giovanissimi, then in the Allievi, and finally in the Primavera.

During the 2014-2015 season, for the first time, he was associated with Filippo Inzaghi's first team, taking the bench in Serie A, thanks to a waiver from the Federcalcio, when he was 15 years and 11 months old. When he turned 16, he put pen to his first professional contract with the Rossoneri. He was occasionally promoted to the first team in the 2014-2015 season.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma Profile

Donnarumma was permanently promoted to the first team the following summer, starting the 2015-2016 season as the third goalkeeper, just behind regular goalkeeper Diego López and second goalkeeper Christian Abbiati.

Thanks also to a positive pre-season, he quickly climbed the hierarchy and made his debut in the top flight on 25 October 2015, during the home game won 2-1 against

, when he was selected as a starter by Rossoneri coach Siniša Mihajlović.

During that game, he conceded his first goal in Serie A by Domenico Berardi. Aged 16 years and 8 months, he was the second youngest Milanese goalkeeper to make his debut in Italy's top division, topped for 13 days by Giuseppe Sacchi.

Having become the starting goalkeeper, he was included in the Milan derby on 31 January 2016, which the Rossoneri won 3-0, becoming the youngest ever starter in the Milanese derby. He finished his first season playing in the

final, at the Olimpico in Rome, which they lost 0-1 to Juventus in extra time.

On the first day of the 2016-2017 season, Donnarumma saved his first penalty kick in Serie A, blocking Andrea Belotti's shot at the San Siro in a 3-2 win over

: he became the first young player since the Second World War to save a penalty in the top Italian league (before him Armando Fiorini did it in 1931).

His first trophy, the Italian Super Cup, was won on 23 December 2016 in Doha by Juventus in a penalty shoot-out, with Donnarumma saving Paulo Dybala's shot. He finished his second season in the first team, playing all 38 league games as a starter.

Donnarumma's obvious talent and potential for improvement led to a race for his signature between AC Milan's new management team following the takeover, who were trying to persuade him to extend his contract at the club despite a marked decline in results, and the biggest European clubs which were prepared to offer him a huge salary in addition to the sporting guarantees demanded by his capricious agent Mino Raiola.

The latter considered that AC Milan had lost its prestige, so he argued that Donnarumma should move to a club with a better squad and one that was also qualified for the Champions League.

He made his debut in international football on 27 July 2017, in the first leg of the third preliminary round of the Europa League against Romanian side U Craiova (1-0). He became the youngest player in Milan's history to make 100 appearances in a Rossoneri shirt on 30 December against

, while on 15 April 2018 he became the youngest player ever to play 100 games in Serie A against Napoli, and he was involved in all 38 league games for the second consecutive season.

On the following 9 May, he was again in the Coppa Italia final, but his performance was one of the worst of his young career: Gennaro Gattuso's team lost 4-0 to Juventus, and several mistakes from the goalkeeper contributed to the defeat.

In the 2018-2019 season, he was confirmed as the starter in the Rossoneri's goal, quickly beating off competition from the newly acquired and more experienced Pepe Reina; although he was not used in the Europa League, for which Gattuso selected the Spanish goalkeeper. He was on the field in the Italian Super Cup final in Jeddah in January 2019, losing to Juventus.

He became one of the most important players of the team, despite his young age, and on 21 July 2020, he played his 200th official match for the Rossoneri, in the 2-1 league victory over Sassuolo. Just three days later, in the next home Serie A match against

(1-1), he played as captain of AC Milan for the first time.

During the derby of 21 February 2021, he reached 200 appearances in Serie A, all with AC Milan: at the age of 21 years and 361 days, he became the youngest player ever to reach this milestone. The 2020-2021 season was positive for Donnarumma on a sporting level, with AC Milan returning to the top of the league after almost a decade thanks to his convincing performances between the posts, achieving a second-place finish.

But it was a difficult season for Donnarumma on an emotional front due to the stalemate over the renewal of his contract with the Milanese club, a fact that week after week, placed the goalkeeper in increasing conflict with the Rossoneri supporters.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2020-2021 season, he was offered an annual contract of €8 million by AC Milan. His agent Mino Raiola asked for a contract worth at least €12 million-plus an agent's fee of €20 million. Represented by AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini, the club remained firm and decided not to renew Gianluigi Donnarumma's contract. Donnarumma was replaced, much to the delight of the fans, by French national team second-choice keeper Mike Maignan.

Possible switch to PSG

After the two parties failed to reach an agreement regarding extending Gianluigi’s contract at AC Milan, there are currently rumors that the talented Italian goalkeeper is in talks with the wealthy French club

and will join them in the following weeks.

Paris Saint-Germain has prepared a five-year contract for Donnarumma, running until 30 June 2026, with a salary of €12 million net per season. A total of 60 million euros net for the player. In addition, obviously, the commissions requested by Raiola for the transfer, this deal will cost PSG a total of 80 million euros in practice.

At the end of the day, the fact that Donnarumma, in Ligue 1, will compete for the starting position with Keylor Navas from Costa Rica, who has just renewed his contract until 30 June 2024 for a salary of 12 million euros per season, is of little importance. After all, the former

player is going to be 35 years old and the future certainly belongs to Gigio.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma biography

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Italy National Team

After having played with the Under-15 and Under-16 national teams in 2014, Donnarumma was named the starting goalkeeper for the Under-17 team, which played in the 2015 European Championship, where he made 5 appearances after having already played 3 matches in the qualifying rounds. In this competition (in which

was eliminated in the quarter-finals) he emerged among the best goalkeepers, together with French Luca Zidane.

He was called up for the first time in the Under-21 team by coach Luigi Di Biagio for the first time on November 5, 2015, for the matches against

and Lithuania. He debuted with the Azzurrini on 24 March 2016, in the victorious away match against Ireland (1-4) played in Waterford and counting for the qualification to the 2017 European Under-21 Championship.

Thus, at 17 years and 28 days, Donnarumma became the youngest rookie in the Italian Under-21 shirt. The year after, he plays as a starting player in the final phase of the tournament: he conceded 6 goals in the 4 matches played by Italy, who were eliminated in the semifinals by Spain.

His first call-up to the senior national team was on 27 August 2016, when he was selected by coach Gian Piero Ventura for the friendly against

and the following 2018

qualifying match versus Israel. He first played on 1 September 2016, coming on in 46 minutes to take Gianluigi Buffon's place in the 3-1 friendly loss to the Bleus.

At 17 years and 189 days old, Donnarumma was named the youngest goalkeeper to wear the Azzurri shirt, surpassing Piero Campelli's 104-year record. He also became the youngest Azzurri goalkeeper to play as a starter in the 2-1 friendly win over the

in Amsterdam on 28 March 2017.

After he failed to reach the final stage of the 2018 World Cup, which signaled the end of the Ventura management, Donnarumma was selected by new Italian coach Roberto Mancini. Donnarumma played his first match in the newly-formed UEFA Nations League in September 2018 in a 1-1 draw against

in Bologna and was a starting player in all of the remaining group stage matches.

He made five appearances in the subsequent 2020 European Championship qualifiers, playing alternately in defense of the Azzurri's goal with Salvatore Sirigu.

He consolidated his role as Italy's number one in 2020 by featuring in all of Italy's matches in the group stage of the 2020-2021 Nations League, a competition that saw the national team gain access to the final four for the title. Stay tuned as we are going to continue exploring

Gianluigi Donnarumma biography

and share info about his playing style as a goalkeeper.

Style of Play

One of the greatest talents of his generation, this goalkeeper is an agile and very quick player despite his size, with good reflexes and good footwork. He is confident in both high and low exits, and in directing the defense, as well as in saving penalties.

Thanks to his rapid maturation, which led him to national prominence at just over 16 years of age, he was compared by various experts to the already successful Gianluigi Buffon, who was also able to grow quickly.

Reception

Because of his great talent and exceptional goalkeeping skills, many football experts and fans believe that Gianluigi Donnarumma has was it takes to become one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of Italian football. Many football critics regard Donnarumma as one of the best goalkeeping talents in the world of football.

With the rumors that he is about to sign for Paris Saint-Germain, he is expected to become a much better player and reach his potential in the rich Parisian club, so we will definitely hear more about Gianluigi Donnarumma in the coming seasons.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma outside Football

As one of the most talented young goalkeepers in the world of football, and as he is just 22 years old, Gianluigi Donnarumma is currently fully focused on his football and there is not much about him outside the football world. During his spare time, he spends time with his friends and family, otherwise, you can always find him in the gym. Also, if you take a look at his Instagram page, you can find some pictures of Gigio and his girlfriend.

Gianluigi Donnarumma Personal Life

In this section of Gianluigi Donnarumma biography, we want to take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information like

Gianluigi Donnarumma life story

.

Family, Children and Relationships

Known as Gigio, he is the younger brother of Antonio, who is also a goalkeeper and, from 2017, also his teammate at AC Milan.

Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is engaged to the beautiful Alessia Elefante. She is a student from Castellammare di Stabia, the same town as the Rossoneri goalkeeper.

The couple has been engaged since 2016. After having dated for a few months, in 2017 they decided to move in together.

He has preferred to keep his profiles private on social media to try to protect his privacy as much as possible. Meanwhile, fan pages have also emerged that post some shots of Donnarumma's girlfriend. Stay tuned as we are going to continue exploring Gianluigi Donnarumma biography and share info about his charitable and philanthropy works.

Philanthropy

Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of the few younger footballers these days who actively participates in charity causes. On one occasion, the Italian goalkeeper auctioned off his 120th anniversary AC Milan shirt as part of a campaign to help people in need in the Naples area.

At the time, Gianluigi Donnarumma joined the campaign "Je sto vicino a te: Uniti per Napoli" (I'm close to you: United for Naples) launched by the Cannavaro Ferrara Foundation to collect funds for the purchase of basic necessities for needy people in the Naples area.

The campaign involved auctions of football memorabilia and the AC Milan goalkeeper offered the 120th anniversary jersey of the Rossoneri, which he wore against Sassuolo at the San Siro. The Puma company had made special uniforms for the occasion. Gigio signed his, which was then offered on the well-known portal CharityStars.

This was Donnarumma's message on his official Instagram profile: "Hi guys, I've decided to auction the jersey I wore in the 120th Milan anniversary match. I do it to show my sympathy to my country and to all Neapolitans. A hug also to Fabio, Paolo, and Ciro for the great initiative they are doing. Altogether we'll make it and we'll embrace each other stronger than before".

Legal Issues

At the time of writing this article, there are no reports of any legal disputes or issues regarding Gianluigi Donnarumma on media.

Gianluigi Donnarumma Career Statistics

In this section of Gianluigi Donnarumma biography, we want to take a look at some of his career stats, both as a player and manager. Stay tuned.

Club

In all of his football career, Gianluigi Donnarumma has only played for AC Milan. From the 2015-16 season, he has played a total of 215 matches for the Milanese club in

. He has also featured in 12 Coppa Italia matches and 22 European games for the Rossoneri. With another two matches in Supercoppa Italiana, in six seasons, Donnarumma played a total of 251 matches in all competitions for AC Milan.

International

Gianluigi Donnarumma played a total of 24 matches for Italian youth ranks before debuting for the senior Italy national team in 2016. So far, the 1.96 meters goalkeeper has played a total of 26 matches for his country and will certainly add to his tally in the upcoming Euro 2020.

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Gianluigi Donnarumma Honors

Donnarumma’s only club level title that he has won in 2016 is the Supercoppa Italiana. On the international level, the young goalkeeper so far has not won any titles or awards.

However, on an individual level, Gianluigi Donnarumma has many awards and titles to his name, including Gazzetta Sports Awards Rivelazione dell'anno in 2016, Goal.com NxGn in 2017, AIC Serie A Team of the Year in the 2019-20 season, AIC Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year in 2020 and the Serie A Best Goalkeeper in the recent 2020-21 season.

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