Man City have agreed to pay PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma €16m a year (£265,000 a week) but they are still haggling over the transfer fee, according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato.
Speaking on Rai TV programme La Domenica Sportiva Estate (quotes via Sport Witness), Venerato said that the Cityzens would like to pay less than €35m (£30m) for the 26-year-old:
“A €35m deal, plus a €16m salary? That Donnarumma would go to City was always clear to me: I never had any doubts. Regarding the transfer figures, we need to see if City will be able to spend less than the €35m announced.”
“Regarding the salary, however, we’re in agreement. It was one of the reasons for the split with PSG. Gigi wanted to improve his salary compared to the situation he was experiencing in France, and €16m is certainly a very significant sum.”
Why won’t City pay £30m?
While many will feel that the price in question is more than reasonable for a keeper of Donnarumma‘s talents, it should be noted that he has less than a year left on his contract at PSG.
Pep Guardiola’s side could wait to sign him up to an agreement in January that would see him make the switch to the Etihad on a free transfer next July. Of course, waiting that long would risk other teams swooping in. Both Manchester United and Chelsea have been mentioned as potential suitors as well.
Any move for Donnarumma still depends on Ederson’s departure
While the interest in the Italian international is concrete, it is believed that the sale of City’s current first-choice keeper is key to the move going ahead.
An official bid for Ederson worth €10m (£8.6m) has been received from Turkish champions Galatasaray but his valuation is said to be €25m (£21.6m). That is a substantial gap to bridge.
The Brazilian was not even in the matchday squad for the 4-0 win over Wolves at the weekend, although the official reason given for his absence was a ‘stomach bug’.
Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here