Gianluigi Donnarumma’s (26) contract with Paris St. Germain expires in just under a year. Now, the Champions League winners have apparently already agreed on a potential successor.
Things have actually been relatively quiet at Paris St. Germain since losing the Club World Cup final to Chelsea FC. Training for the Champions League winners does not start until August 6, and there were no major transfers on the horizon for what already appears to be a complete squad. But for several days now, the big name of the transfer window has been making its way into the newspapers: Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Italian goalkeeper, who played a decisive role in Paris’s first Champions League title win, could possibly leave the club this summer. His contract expires in 2026, and talks about an extension have apparently been stalled for several months—and are said to have made no significant progress since the end of the Club World Cup.
Now, a report in the sports newspaper L’Equipe has added new fuel to the fire: According to the report, PSG is already in concrete talks with Lucas Chevalier, goalkeeper for league rivals Lille OSC, and has already agreed on a five-year contract with the 23-year-old substitute goalkeeper for the French national team. Negotiations with Chevalier’s club in the north of the country are still ongoing, with Lille reportedly demanding at least €40 million for their home-grown player, who was voted Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper at the end of last season, ahead of Donnarumma.
For him, the news means that PSG may not actually be prepared to meet his demands. The contract model proposed by PSG, with a fixed salary and a variable portion based on factors including the number of games played, is reportedly not acceptable to Donnarumma and his agent Enzo Raiola. However, this condition is likely to become the sticking point in talks about a still possible but increasingly unlikely extension.
Donnarumma can only leave when Chevalier is there
Raiola had repeatedly emphasized in recent months that Donnarumma was very happy in Paris and wanted to extend his contract, but he recently told Gazzetta dello Sport that he wanted a fair offer, arguing that Donnarumma was “the best goalkeeper in the world” and the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or. “Without his saves against Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal, PSG would never have won the Champions League.”
According to the report, PSG will not be willing to let Donnarumma go until the deal with Chevalier is finalized. However, once an agreement is reached with Lille, things could move quickly. The French capital club wants to avoid a repeat of the Kylian Mbappé case at all costs, when PSG had to let him leave for Real Madrid on a free transfer after his contract expired. However, the club can only generate a transfer fee this summer – and that is most likely to come from England. Manchester United and Manchester City are said to have registered their interest in the goalkeeper – the outcome is still open.
