AC Milan fans ‘will throw fake bank notes at Gianluigi Donnarumma’ when the goalkeeper returns to the San Siro for the first time since his acrimonious free exit for PSG in 2021
- Gianluigi Donnarumma will face his old club AC Milan at the San Siro on Tuesday
- The hosts’ ultras are preparing to welcome him back with a hostile reception
- CHRIS SUTTON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a CLOWN – It’s All Kicking Off
A group of AC Milan fans are preparing to give PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma a hostile reception when the goalkeeper returns to the San Siro on Tuesday, according to reports in Italy.
The Italian, who came through Milan’s youth academy to feature over 250 times for the red and black, was widely regarded as the best young goalkeeper in world football prior to his controversial free transfer to Paris.
Donnarumma refused to sign a new deal worth £130,000 per week with Milan in a bid to run down his contract — and instead penned a more lucrative deal with Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, effectively leaving his boyhood club with nothing.
Now, with Donnarumma set to face his old club for the first time at the San Siro since his acrimonious exit, Milan’s ultras in the Curva Sud are planning to throw fake bank notes and wear a No 71 shirt to highlight his betrayal, according to Italian outlet Sport Mediaset.
The shirts the ultras will wear are a reference to the Neapolitan system of interpreting dreams into winning lottery numbers — called Smorfia Napoletana — with 71 meaning ‘man without values’.
Milan fans are preparing to throw fake bank notes at Gianluigi Donnarumma on Tuesday night
The Italian star will be greeted by a hostile reception when he returns to face his former club
However, Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has moved to remind Milan fans of the years of service Donnarumma gave the club.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Tuesday evening’s match, he said: ‘Gigi is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He’s still so young and such a great professional, he’s also a fantastic person.
‘What he contributed to AC Milan over 215 appearances was amazing – and I have huge respect for both AC Milan and Gigio.’
PSG head to Italy at the top of their Champions League group on six points, while Milan are at the bottom of the table behind Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, the French club sit second in Ligue 1 behind leaders Nice, with Milan third in Serie A after losing 1-0 against Udinese on Saturday.
Donnarumma’s exceptional form at the start of his Milan career led to the goalkeeper becoming the youngest Italian to play for the U21 side, at the age of 17 years and 28 days in March 2016.
He went on to chalk up 251 appearances for the Serie A giants, winning the Italian Super Cup with the club in 2016-17.
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Milan’s ultras in the Curva Sud are still furious with his decision to join PSG on a free transfer
The Italian came through the Milan academy and racked up over 250 appearances at the club
His decision not to sign a new deal with Milan in 2021 sparked a frenzy in the transfer market, as Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus fought PSG for his signature.
After agreeing his move to the Parc de Princes, Donnarumma helped Roberto Mancini’s Italy win the European Championships, triumphing over England in the final after a dramatic penalty shootout at Wembley.
The goalkeeper swiftly added to his portfolio of honours in Paris, winning successive Ligue 1 titles in 2022 and 2023.
PSG head into the match in a rich vein of goal-scoring form, having netted three times in each of their last three matches against Montpellier, Brest and Milan in the reverse fixture in Paris.
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