Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma said he was hurt by reports claiming national team players had demanded a bonus if they qualified for this year’s World Cup.
Four-time champions Italy missed the final for the third time in a row after losing 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final last month.
“As captain, I never asked the Italian national team for even one euro,” Donnarumma said. Sky Sports Italy.
READ ALSO | PSG rues missed chances despite beating Liverpool 2-0 in the quarter-finals
“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, but no one asked the federation for anything; our reward was to go to the World Cup.”
Italy’s failure to qualify for the June 11-July 19 tournament in North America resulted in Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina resigning under political pressure and the country’s former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stepping down as the team’s delegation chief.
Head coach Gennaro Gattuso also left his position.
“We have to start again and move on,” said Donnarumma, 27.
“We have to bounce back; there are still four years until the next World Cup, and in the meantime there are big competitions such as the European Championship and the Nations League.
“Before we think about the World Cup, we need to focus on these big tournaments in between and start strong again.”
Published on April 9, 2026
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/ben-stiller-kids-1-e9d7a154c2944675b91b3521fc1a219b.jpg?w=238&resize=238,178&ssl=1 "Los 2 hijos de Ben Stiller: todo sobre Ella y Quinlin")
