Has "traditional goalkeeper" Donnarumma become a victim of the times?

Written by/Han Bing As one of the key contributors to Paris Saint-Germain's four-title haul last season, Donnarumma could only watch on television as his teammates lifted the UEFA Super Cup. Just hours after being excluded from the Super Cup squad, Donnarumma, who had just been nominated for the Ballon d'Or, has "declared his departure." His contract renewal talks with PSG have completely broken down, and PSG's coach Enrique even stated, "Giving up on Donnarumma was his decision, and he takes full responsibility."

Donnarumma's abandonment by PSG has caused an uproar in European football. Italian goalkeeping legends Zoff and Abbiati have both expressed strong indignation at Donnarumma's "predicament." Donnarumma is currently one of the world's top goalkeepers, but due to PSG's need to reduce the risk of breaching financial fair play regulations and Coach Enrique's preference for a different style of goalkeeper, he has become a victim of elimination for "non-performance-related reasons."

As early as last Saturday, after PSG signed Chevalier from Lille for a record transfer fee of €40 million plus €15 million, Donnarumma, still on vacation, posted a photo with his wife and child on social media, writing "Numero 1" in chocolate on a platter of desserts, suggesting that he is PSG's number one goalkeeper. However, subsequent developments completely eliminated the possibility of Donnarumma staying in Paris.

In order to quickly reduce the excessively high wage-to-revenue ratio, PSG proposed a new contract model for several key players, consisting of a fixed salary plus a performance-based salary. Donnarumma's annual salary is €12 million, and he agreed to a one-year renewal with a slight pay cut. However, the proposed contract from PSG, which included a drastic reduction to €6 million fixed salary plus €3 million performance bonus, was unacceptable to Donnarumma. After all, he had just led the team to an unprecedented four titles, and a "50% pay cut" seemed absurd.

Donnarumma's agent, Enzo Raiola, complained that PSG has been inconsistent in their contract negotiations, but Enrique had already made it clear last season that he needed a goalkeeper who could pass better and even participate in attacks.

Last season, Donnarumma's passing numbers were nearly half of Chevalier's (542 vs. 936), and his long passes dropped to nearly one-third (139 vs. 365), which became the decisive "technical reason" for the Italian goalkeeper's abandonment. Donnarumma had an 85.4% passing accuracy in Ligue 1 last season, but Enrique wanted his passes to be more aggressive, even though the Italian goalkeeper had an impressive 66.2% save success rate and over 70% save success rate in the Champions League last season, saving nearly a quarter of penalties in his career. Simply being a good shot-stopper has become the main reason the Italian goalkeeper cannot remain at PSG.

After PSG won the UEFA Super Cup with "passing goalkeeper" Chevalier, Donnarumma's agent also claimed that the Italian goalkeeper's next stop is the Premier League. French newspaper L'Équipe reported that Manchester City had reached a personal agreement with Donnarumma, but Guardiola also prefers goalkeepers with strong ball control. Starting goalkeeper Ederson has contributed eight assists to Manchester City, four of which occurred last season, setting a record for assists by a goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Manchester City hopes to sell Ederson to Galatasaray, and the Brazilian goalkeeper has already reached a personal agreement with the Turkish giants for a €7 million annual salary, but there is a significant gap in transfer fees. Manchester City needs €13 million, while Galatasaray is only willing to pay €7 million. However, the real trouble lies with PSG, as the French giants have priced Donnarumma, whose contract has only one year left, at €50 million, a high price that even Premier League giants find hard to accept. Moreover, Manchester City has just signed Trafford from Burnley for a high fee of €36 million, setting a record for English goalkeeper transfers. Investing over €40 million in Donnarumma seems quite challenging. Therefore, when the Italian goalkeeper can join Manchester City remains uncertain.

The fact that Donnarumma was eliminated for "only being a shot-stopper" has sparked more debate in the football world regarding the standards for evaluating a goalkeeper's abilities: shouldn't outstanding shot-stopping ability be the foremost criterion for assessing a goalkeeper's skill?