Gianluigi Donnarumma Demands Huge Wage Increase at AC Milan

Gianluigi Donnarumma is reported to have set out his demands to AC Milan, and wants his salary upped from €6m per season to €10m if he is to stay beyond 2020/21.

Donnarumma has long been considered one of the most exciting goalkeepers on the planet, and has made more than 200 appearances for Milan despite only turning 21 in February. He's an exceptionally valuable asset, but has entered the final year of the contract he signed in 2017, and there are real fears he could leave for a nominal compensation fee next summer.

Milan have been working hard behind the scenes to tie him down to fresh terms, but under the tutelage of notorious agent Mino Raiola, the keeper has been playing hard to get. Reports in March suggested he was set to reject the club's latest offer, and had no plans to hang around beyond the expiry of his existing contract.

The latest from the Italian papers suggests that his stance has softened somewhat since then, and is now prepared to stay - provided Milan meet his substantial salary demands. He currently earns €6m (£5.3m) per season, but according to Corriere della Serra (per Football Italia), he wants a salary that would make him one of the highest paid keepers on the planet.

He and Raiola are said to be holding out for €10m (£8.9m) per season, which works out in the ball-park of €200,000 per week.

A culmination of poor boardroom management and the impact of the coronavirus crisis means Milan are cutting costs across the board at present, so it doesn't seem likely they will sign off on a 70% salary increase, even for one of their prized assets. It's a case of risk vs reward, however - investing in a new contract now may mean they can negotiate a substantial fee for Donnarumma in the future, rather than lose him for free in 12 months.

Virtually every major European club has been said to hold an interest at one stage or another, and the queue for his signature will only grow if his contract standoff continues. If, by January, he hasn't extended his terms, then he will be available for free transfer negotiations with clubs outside Italy.