AC Milan finally closed the Gianluigi Donnarumma saga, as the goalkeeper inked a contract extension that will keep him at the Rossoneri till 2021, the Italian club confirmed.
“AC Milan and Gianluigi Donnarumma have reached an agreement to extend the goalkeeper's contract through to 2021,” a statement by the club read.
After breaking into the Rossoneri first-team as a precocious 16-year-old in 2015, Donnarumma quickly established a reputation as one of the finest shot-stoppers in the world.
Seen as the natural heir to veteran custodian Gianluigi Buffon in the Italian national side, Donnarumma was the undisputed starter for Milan in the 2016-17 season. But fans were in for a rude shock as the club announced in June that the teenager had rejected a contract extension.
The news led to a barrage of death threats for the young goalkeeper, with his agent Mino Raiola apparently at loggerheads with the club management over the impasse.
With the likes of Manchester United said to be courting the 18-year-old an acrimonious transfer seemed certain only for the dramatic U-turn by Donnarumma and his team on Tuesday to suggest his career at the San Siro is not closed yet.