Donnarumma reveals being “hurt” by claims of Italy seeking bonus for World Cup qualificiation | OneFootball

Gianluigi Donnarumma has dismissed reports claiming players of the Italy national team demanded a bonus to qualify for the World Cup, referring to them as hurtful.

Italy recently suffered a disheartening 4-1 penalty shoot-out loss against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UEFA play-off final in late March – after the score was tied at 1-1 – following a second-place finish in their qualification group behind Norway.

The defeat against Bosnia led to Italy missing out on the World Cup for a third consecutive time, and following the elimination, reports surfaced suggesting the squad had attempted to negotiate a bonus prior to their final play-off match.

But speaking to reporters after the disappointing outcome, Gianluigi Donnarumma turned down such claims by stating that “nobody asked the federation for anything.”

What has Gianluigi Donnarumma said?

The Italy national team captain addressed the reports, clarifying that he never asked the federation for any bonuses or rewards and told Sky Italia – as cited by ESPN,

“I was hurt more by the comments [from the media], by the words that were said. As captain, I never went to ask the Italian national team for a single euro,” said Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“What the national team does, as always, in every competition, is give a gift to the players who qualify for a tournament. That was all there was to it, but nobody asked the federation for anything; our reward was getting to go to the World Cup,” he added.

Aftermath of Italy’s elimination from World Cup 2026

Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row saw some of the federation and management stepping down amid political pressure. Federation president Gabriele Gravina resigned, while Gianluigi Buffon concluded his role as the team’s delegation chief, and head coach Gennaro Gattuso also stepped down.

Gianluigi Donnarumma sympathised with these developments, mentioning that the onus falls on the team as a whole, and said, “I had a wonderful rapport with Gattuso, Buffon and Gravina. I’m especially sorry for them. It’s only natural that we feel responsible for what’s happening.”

The AC Milan graduate also addressed the distress of Italy not making it to the World Cup and added, “These have been very tough, gruelling days – just as they have been for all Italians who cared so much about the World Cup, as we did. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it; we have to accept that. It hurts a lot; I’ve found it very hard to come to terms with it.”

Donnarumma believes Italy have to “start afresh”

While Italy have to endure being excluded from another edition of the World Cup, the Euro 2020 winning goalkeeper has suggested a rebuild for the Azzurri.

“We have to start afresh, move on,” he said. Donnarumma also mentioned that with the next World Cup being four years away, Italy need to focus on winning other major competitions.

“We have to bounce back; there are four years until the next World Cup, and in the meantime there are major competitions like the European Championship and the Nations League.”

“Before thinking about the World Cup, we need to focus on these big tournaments in between and we need to start again strongly straight away,” the former Paris Saint-Germain star concluded.

Since receiving his senior national squad call-up in 2016, Donnarumma has 81 caps for Italy. He became the Azzurri’s youngest skipper since 1965 at the age of 22 when he donned the armband against Belgium during the UEFA Nations League third-place match in 2021.