Paris Saint-Germain strategic advisor Luis Campos revealed that Gianluigi Donnarumma’s lofty salary demands ultimately prompted the club to put him up for sale this summer.
Manchester City snapped up the chance to sign one of the world’s best goalkeepers for a relatively affordable £26 million ($35.4 million) this summer, waiting until the final hours of Deadline Day to strike a bargain deal as they had all the negotiating power.
Donnarumma confirmed his own departure as early as Aug. 12 after being dropped from the first-team squad in favour of summer recruit Lucas Chevalier. The Italy international claimed that “someone has decided that I can no longer be part of the group” shortly before manager Luis Enrique accepted the blame, explaining that he wanted “a different profile” of goalkeeper.
Campos has now suggested that this was a decision based on finances as much as tactics. Donnarumma had entered into the final 12 months of his PSG contract and talks over an extension had thus far proven fruitless.
“The club is more important than anyone else,” Campos told RMC Sport. “That’s changed at PSG. Donnarumma, it was a combination of circumstances that led to this decision. When he asks for a salary at the level of PSG before, not the current PSG...”
The Portuguese advisor went on to explain how the club’s new contracts would be littered with significant bonuses rather than a high base rate. “Our policy is very much based on merit: you earn more when you deserve it, and when you play,” Campos outlined. “We took time to discuss the Gigio issue. We were obliged to find solutions if we couldn’t reach an agreement with him.”
Donnarumma’s agent Enzo Raiola claimed that his client did accept a lower salary during negotiations last season only to see the club “change the rules of the game.” Talks were supposedly postponed until after the Champions League final, when PSG “confirmed their desire to continue” according to Raiola, before a dramatic change in stance at the start of August.
Campos was undeterred, insisting that every PSG player would be subjected to the same treatment as Donnarumma. “The salary policy applies to everyone,” he shrugged.
“The club’s stability will not change based on a player who wants to be different. We will protect PSG. We always have the desire to play well and win matches. With this policy, everyone understands that the coach does not prioritise a player’s status or past. It’s not your past that will make you a starter at PSG. That’s our policy.”
READ THE LATEST TRANSFER NEWS AND RUMORS FROM WORLD SOCCER
This article was originally published on www.si.com as PSG Boss Reveals Real Reason Why Gianluigi Donnarumma Was Forced Out.
