
Hard to celebrate PSG's Champions League win over Italian colleagues, says Donnarumma
June 4 (Reuters) - Gianluigi Donnarumma found it difficult to celebrate Paris St Germain's Champions League win over Inter Milan with so many Italian teammates on the other side, the Italy keeper and captain said on Wednesday.
Donnarumma was a spectator for much of Saturday's final in Munich, with PSG strolling to a 5-0 win, and after the final whistle was seen consoling Inter's shell-shocked players.
The former AC Milan keeper has now joined up with Inter's Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Nicolo Barella and Davide Frattesi at Italy's training camp ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers and was asked what he said to them.
"Nothing. There was a real heartfelt hug with those teammates after the game and I'm happy about that," Donnarumma told reporters.
"I also struggled to enjoy the Champions League victory to the fullest because on the other side there were my brothers with whom I share a lot.
"Here, we haven't spoken about that match, not even a few jokes. We only spoke about the next two games and giving everything together."
Donnarumma, who has one year left on his PSG contract, has been linked with a move to Inter and was again asked about those media reports after his agent was seen at Inter's headquarters on Wednesday morning.
"I didn't know he was at Inter, I'm fine in Paris and the club will decide on the renewal or not," Donnarumma said.
"I'm ready for anything, but now my first option is Paris because I'm fine, the fans love me and the team loves me. I hope to stay there for many years."
Donnarumma has not always convinced Italian fans and media, despite his penalty shootout saves leading to Italy's Euro 2020 triumph, with the keeper often criticised for errors.
Now, however, he feels he is in the best form of his career, and a lot of that is down to PSG manager Luis Enrique.
"When you return to your own country and you're not welcomed as you deserve, it's not easy," Donnarumma said.
"Now I'm happy to have found confidence, balance and mentality. I am happy to have convinced all Italians.
"With Luis Enrique I found balance on everything. He gave me a lot especially on a mental level."
Italy begin their qualifying campaign in Norway on Friday, before hosting Moldova on Monday, having failed to reach the last two World Cups.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Nordic Darts Masters 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Humphries scrapes quarter-finals spot, Luke Littler on SOON
Luk who's back Luke Littler has not featured in any pro event other than the Premier League since his run at the German Darts Grand Prix back in April. The Nuke opted to skip the last four European Tour events to focus on the Premier League. But Littler is expected to compete at the Nordic Darts Masters this week as he looks to add to his two World Series of Darts titles. The world champion will take on Swedish newcomer Viktor Tingstrom in the first round of the tournament. It will be Littler's Nordic Darts Masters debut after he withdrew from last year's edition due to family commitments.


Telegraph
21 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Farage ‘seeks less powerful chairman' after Yusuf quits
Nigel Farage is considering appointing a less powerful Reform UK chairman after the sudden departure of Zia Yusuf, The Telegraph understands. Senior party figures have discussed splitting the role into several positions when Mr Yusuf is replaced, following his dramatic resignation on Thursday. Reform sources told The Telegraph that the former chairman had 'rubbed some people up the wrong way', and that a key factor in his departure was high workload. 'He was on a mission, working 18 hours a day,' said one source. 'He was doing it all unpaid, and he expected everyone else to work equally hard.' Mr Farage and the party's officials are working out how to replace the 38-year-old businessman, who said he no longer thought it was 'a good use of his time' to work on getting Reform into government. It came after an apparent dispute between Mr Yusuf and other senior figures over whether the party should campaign to ban the burka, which was suggested by the newest Reform MP Sarah Pochin at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Mr Yusuf said later it was 'dumb' to suggest policies Reform did not support, but Lee Anderson, the Reform chief whip, said he backed a ban. Mr Farage and Richard Tice, the deputy leader, both said they thought there should be a 'debate' on face coverings, including burkas, in the UK. One party source said Mr Yusuf was 'unpopular' with other members of staff, and had become 'super stretched' in managing the day-to-day running of Reform and the party's new ' Doge ' efficiency drive in the ten councils it won in last month's local elections. That workload led him to become 'authoritarian' and a 'control freak', said another figure close to Reform. Mr Farage said on Thursday that Mr Yusuf brought a 'bit of a Goldman Sachs mentality' to the role, which others said was a coded reference to his high-pressure management style. But the Reform leader also said he was 'sad' his chairman was leaving, and that he had only ten minutes' notice that he intended to resign. The tipping point for Mr Yusuf came on Wednesday, when he learned of Ms Pochin's question about burkas to Sir Keir Starmer from reading about it online. Mr Yusuf, who is a Muslim, had been receiving abuse from far-Right trolls online, which Mr Farage said had become difficult for him to bear. He had also reportedly become frustrated that another staff member had taken control of the party's operations, and felt he had been isolated from conversations about policy. He said on Thursday: '11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results. I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' Multiple sources said Mr Yusuf had performed well in the job, but was not a popular figure within the team. 'He didn't do what a chairman is meant to do, which is to bring people in and bring them along with you,' said one Reform source, adding: 'He isolated a lot of the staff.' Another added: 'Everyone is very sad about it. He wasn't popular with the staff, but he did a good job in the role. It all happened very suddenly – he'd had enough.' The next chairman may be given a more traditional figurehead role within the party, rather than running its expansion, elections and financial affairs as Mr Yusuf did. Mr Farage could appoint a chief executive alongside a new chairman, using funds raised by Nick Candy, the Reform treasurer. Upcoming donations returns are expected to show that the party raised more than £2.5 million in the first quarter of this year – putting Reform in contention to be the biggest fundraiser among the Westminster parties. Both the Conservatives and Labour have suffered a cash crunch since last year's election, and have laid off staff members. Early contenders to replace Mr Yusuf include Andy Wigmore and Arron Banks, the ' bad boys of Brexit ' who worked with Mr Farage on the campaign in 2016. One figure close to the party said Mr Farage could approach Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP and MEP who stood for Reform at the 2019 election. Ms Widdecombe, who said last month she disagreed with Reform's policy to expand access to the winter fuel allowance, told The Telegraph she had not been approached about the job. Mr Yusuf's departure is the latest in a series of internal disputes within Reform, including a public row between the chairman and Rupert Lowe, who was elected for the party last year but has since been ejected. Mr Yusuf did not respond to a request for comment.


BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Fans must not 'over expect' before Andorra match
Thomas Tuchel says supporters need to be patient with England and not "over expect" when they play Andorra, the 173rd-ranked team in world football, on Saturday. The World Cup qualifier at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona is just Tuchel's third game as England manager, and he will be looking to strengthen the Three Lions' position in Group K. England are currently top after beating Albania and Latvia in March, but Tuchel warned that despite the differences between the teams, it could take his side some time to break down a resolute Andorra defence. "It will be on us to get going. It is on us to keep the tempo high, it is on us to bring the energy to the pitch," he said."It is on us to bring the attacking energy to the pitch and to do this in a relentless way."The players come from a long and tiring season and then again accepting the role to be responsible for the majority of the game."It can be demanding, but at the same time it is what I feel from the group - they are happy to be here, happy to show." It is just Tuchel's second England camp and a match they are expected to win the 51-year-old referenced Andorra's match with Spain, where the European Champions were only 1-0 up at half-time and urged supporters to not get frustrated."It is also important not to over expect from us. Not to over expect in terms of that we expect a clear result, biggest chances and goals already after 10, 20 minutes and get impatient or frustrated with ourselves. It is a test of our patience," Tuchel said."When Andorra played against Spain it was 1-0 at half-time with a set-piece."It is a World Cup qualifier - you respect your opponent, you respect the quality and the defensive organisation of your opponent."Then you understand how difficult it is to break down. We expect a 5-4-1 formation which will be like 22-25 metres in front of the goal."Put this into consideration, get the energy right, get the detail right and get the energy level right in order to not get frustrated too soon."I hope that we are clear enough to the players in what we demand in details and go along with the details - and the result will hopefully follow."