Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini said he ‘didn’t like’ that Gigio Donnarumma was booed when he returned to San Siro with the Azzurri this month. ‘It was not the right occasion’.
During the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League, the crowd at the Giuseppe Meazza booed every time Donnarumma touched the ball, starting from the warm-up.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer from Milan this summer, as he never renewed his deal with the Rossoneri and the fans were furious by his decision.
Italy CT Roberto Mancini was ‘disappointed’ by the reaction from the fans and Chiellini added that the ‘choices’ of the players ‘must be respected’.
But he stressed the fans are entitled of their opinion and just pointed at the occasion as ‘not right’, as Italy were playing for a place in the Final of the UEFA competition at home.
“I didn’t like it,” he told DAZN. “Each of us makes choices and they must be respected, as the thoughts of the fans must be respected. But I think it was not the right occasion to boo him.”
Donnarumma helped Italy win EURO 2020 this summer and collected over 250 competitive games with the Rossoneri before joining PSG.
He has been compared to former Juventus and PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Chiellini said ‘time will tell’ if the former Rossonero will reach the heights of the World Cup winner, currently plying his trade at Parma.
“Gigio is special, he’s different from the others,” Chiellini said. “Just like we saw Buffon was also different from the goalkeepers of his generation.
“Time will tell us if he can reach those levels, but it’s evident that he’s not a normal goalkeeper. He’s something out of the ordinary.”