Donnarumma to enter lion's den on return to crisis-club Milan
Gianluigi Donnarumma will be given a fierce reception on Tuesday when he faces crisis-club AC Milan at the San Siro for the first time since jumping ship for Paris Saint-Germain and becoming public enemy No 1.
Donnarumma enraged Milan supporters when he left as a free agent just over two years ago, costing the seven-time European champions a hefty transfer fee for a goalkeeper considered at the time one of the best, if not the best, in the world.
Milan have lost other players in that manner over the past few seasons, including Serie A title-winning midfielder Franck Kessie, but Donnarumma hurt the most.
The Italy 'keeper signed for Milan as a 14-year-old, became a first-team player at 16 and had repeatedly professed his love for the club, making supporters believe that he would remain a fixture in the way Gianluigi Buffon had at Juventus.
Instead he refused to bend on wage demands over months of talks and walked away, replaced by PSG academy product Mike Maignan who was crucial to Milan claiming their first title in 11 years in 2022.
However, Maignan's superb performances between the sticks did not do anything to dull the anger of the betrayal, while Donnarumma has failed to convince fans in Paris where he moved after starring in Italy's European Championship triumph.
"It's tough but you need to distance yourself from it," said Donnarumma to Mediaset last month, talking about criticism.
"We're all human, obviously you read things on social media, but you need to distance yourself from it.
"Mistakes happen, we're not robots but the important thing is to work hard and push forward with the team."
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