Gianluigi Donnarumma, the captain of the struggling Italian men’s national football team, has refuted claims suggesting that players requested a financial bonus from the national federation contingent upon qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Italy, recognized as the second-most successful team in World Cup history, has now failed to secure a spot in the tournament for three consecutive editions, a situation that has sparked considerable outrage and calls for a reevaluation of football administration in the country.
Speaking to Sky Italia, the Manchester City goalkeeper expressed his disappointment regarding the media’s portrayal of the situation, stating, “I was hurt more by the comments [from the media], by the words that were said.” He emphasized, “As captain, I never went to ask the Italian national team for a single euro. 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.”
Donnarumma noted that the Italian squad is now redirecting their attention to upcoming competitions leading up to the 2030 World Cup. “We have to start afresh, move on,” the 27-year-old stated. “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 last World Cup appearance for Italy was in 2014. Their unexpected failure to qualify for the 2018 tournament was shocking, but missing out on both the 2022 and 2026 editions has prompted serious discussions about a decline in the overall quality of football, including among Italy’s historically successful clubs. Notably, the last Italian team to win the UEFA Champions League was Inter Milan in 2010, although Italy did achieve success in the 2021 UEFA European Championship during this period.
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