With Paris Saint-Germain‘sloss to Bayernin the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, all the problems that persist in the wake of the club’sdisappointments were brought to light once again. The Parisians areonce again saying goodbye to their cherished goal of lifting the UCL trophy, and they always seem to go out with a bang.
Theirsecond-leg Champions Leagueeffort required a strong showing from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. TheItalyinternational shot-stopper held a scoreless first half, but the German offense ultimately broke through.Nevertheless, this marks the fifth time in seven years that PSG havereached this point and been eliminated.
On the same night, Milan and Tottenham played to a scoreless stalemate in North London.As a result of their 1-0 victory at San Siro in February, the Rossoneri advanced to the Quarter-Finalsfor the first time in 11 years. Being the previous captain of the Italian giants and a product of the club’s youth system,Donnarumma is likely to feel the sting of this loss more acutely than his currentcolleagues at the Parc des Princes.
What did Gianluigi Donnarumma say about AC Milan after his free-agent exit?
Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG. (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Once Donnarumma’s contract with Milan ended in the summer of 2021, he signed with the Parisians as a free agent with the hopes of winning the Champions League,the European club’smost prestigious honor. The news of his departure from the eventual Serie A championsprompted widespread dismay and resentment at his choice to sign with the Ligue 1 side instead.
After publicly declaring his undying devotionto the Rossoneri, many think he made a poor decision by permitting a scenario to arise in which he departedwithout compensating the club financially. Thus,Milan supporters clearly still remember when their former hero abandoned ship at San Siro, just when the team most needed him.
Even worse, the Italy No. 1 cited having ‘different ambitions’ to theRed and Blackswhen justifying his exit: “I spent eight years at Milan, it was my home, I experienced wonderful moments there. Milan still excites me today, I have great respect for the people who work there and for the fans. But life is made up of choices, we had different ambitions. I will always be a fan of Milan. Eight years are not forgotten, but I needed to change to grow, to improve and become the strongest.”
