Donnarumma Denies Italy Players Demanded World Cup Bonus

Donnarumma rejects bonus reports

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denies reports players asked for €300,000 bonus for World Cup qualification.

Italy Goalkeeper denies World Cup bonus claims...

Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America has led to significant changes in the country's football leadership. Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina resigned amid political pressure, followed by former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's decision to step down as the team's delegation chief. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso also left his position, citing the team's failure to achieve their goal.

Gravina's resignation came after Italy's shock defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff final, marking the country's third consecutive World Cup failure. The decision was met with calls for change from Italy's Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, who stated that Italian football needs to be “overhauled.”

“As captain, I never went to ask the Italian national team for a ‌single euro,” Donnarumma told Sky Sports ⁠Italia.

“What the ‌national team does, as always, in every competition, is give a gift to the players who qualify for a tournament.

“That was all there was to it, but nobody asked the federation for anything; our reward ⁠was getting to go to the World Cup.”

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is pushing back against reports that the national team's players demanded a bonus for qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Donnarumma stated he's hurt by the claims, saying, “As captain, I never went to ask for a single euro from the national team.”

The controversy surrounds a reported €300,000 bonus (€10,000 per player) that players allegedly requested before the World Cup play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Italy ultimately lost 4-1 on penalties, marking their third consecutive World Cup absence. Donnarumma emphasized that the players' reward was simply qualifying for the World Cup, saying, “Our reward was getting to go to the World Cup.”

“We have to start afresh, move on,” Donnarumma, 27, said.

“We have to bounce back; there are four years ‌until the next World Cup, and in the meantime there are major competitions ‌like the European Championship and the Nations League.

“Before thinking about the World Cup, we need to focus on these big tournaments in between and we need to ⁠start again ⁠strongly straight away.”