How Donnarumma can improve at Manchester City after ‘shocking’ PSG attitude | OneFootball

The goalkeeping coach who first worked with Gianluigi Donnarumma at Milan insists Manchester City can get more out of him than PSG. ‘It’s shocking they replaced him with Lucas Chevalier.’

Donnarumma shot to fame with the Rossoneri as a 16-year-old and has since then gone from strength to strength, becoming a key figure in the Champions League triumph.

It all started with Alfredo Magni, who worked with him from December 2014 to June 2018 at Milan.

So when Donnarumma joined Manchester City largely because Luis Enrique preferred a goalkeeper who was stronger with the ball at his feet, it irritated Magni.

Donnarumma famously struggles with the ball at his feet

epa12148313 Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG celebrates after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Internazionale Milano, in Munich, Germany 31 May 2025. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

“The thing that stuns me is that Gianluigi honestly is capable of playing from the back, and the fact that Pep Guardiola wants him just proves that, doesn’t it?” the goalkeeping trainer told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Coaches want something more from their goalkeepers than just covering the goal. Many want them to actively participate in the game with positioning that supports the team.

“I can tell you that Donnarumma has what it takes to do that. In general, goalkeepers are asked to make the right choices and kick the ball well enough to keep possession. If it’s the speed of passing the ball, it is something you can work on at any age and improve.

“Part of it is working on strengthening the ankles and doing co-ordination exercises. A player who wants to improve, like Donnarumma, can quickly adapt his characteristics to the needs of the coach.

“It’s sad if Luis Enrique saw something in Chevalier that Donnarumma can do just as well. PSG and their coach could’ve easily worked with him without needing to get a new coach. Instead, PSG let potentially the best goalkeeper in the world just walk away. It is shocking that he is replaced by Chevalier, who is a decent goalkeeper.”

MUNICH, GERMANY – MAY 31: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Paris Saint-Germain kisses the UEFA Champions League trophy after his team’s victory, to secure Paris Saint-Germain’s first ever UEFA Champions League title in the club’s history and a record UEFA Champions League Final winning scoreline of 5-0, following the UEFA Champions League Final 2025 between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Internazionale Milano at Munich Football Arena on May 31, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Now it is up to Guardiola and his Manchester City staff to do that work in training and help Donnarumma improve his abilities with the ball at his feet.

“Let’s just say that over three months, with analytics, training, and without too much pressure, as well as those strength exercises on the ankles and kicking, he could do it easily,” added Magni.

“What we need to think about is that over half the goalkeepers in Serie A are foreign, so evidently there’s something in the Italian academies we don’t focus on that coaches are now looking for. We need to work on that.”