Super-agent Mino Raiola has reportedly urged his client Gianluigi Donnarumma to pursue a fresh challenge away from AC Milan at the end of the season. The teenager had come under extreme criticism from the fans after he turned down a contract earlier in the summer, but he eventually committed his future to the Rossoneri until the summer of 2022.
In an interview quoted by ESPN, Raiola appeared to entice the 19-year-old to secure a big-money move with a number of elite offers waiting for him, he said: “Gigio made a choice, of staying at Milan, and I respect it. However, if he were to ask me to leave, I would get straight to work because there are big offers for him. In fact, if it were up to me, Gigio would leave Milan.”
The 19-year-old had a slow start to the season with the Rossoneri, who struggled to cope with the vast number of changes in the first-team squad. However, as the season has gone by, Donnarumma’s performances have improved with the backline, and he has managed to keep clean sheets in nearly 50 percent of the games in all competitions.
Raiola has tended to gain plenty of fortune from big-money signings over the past few transfer windows, and it appears that the Italian has the same agenda with Donnarumma. However, his suggestion is likely to fall on deaf ears, considering Milan are grooming a strong contingent of young Italian players, which include Alessio Romagnoli, Davide Calabria, Andrea Conti, Manuel Locatelli and Patrick Cutrone.
The San Siro outfit were said to have no chances of competing for silverware based on their early season form, but they have improved their performances to a great extent that they find themselves in the Italian Cup final. The Rossoneri are also being tipped to compete for the Europa League title where they face an out-of-form Arsenal side in the round of 16.