Gianluigi Donnarumma has strongly rejected reports suggesting Italy’s players demanded a financial bonus for qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, insisting the claims are untrue and personally hurtful.
Italy’s captain addressed the issue following widespread reports that players had sought incentives ahead of qualification. Donnarumma dismissed the claims outright, stressing that no such request was ever made.
“As captain, I never went to ask the national team for a single euro,” he told Italian media.
“What the national team does, as always, is give a gift to players who qualify for a tournament. That was all there was to it — nobody asked for anything.”
Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup marked a third consecutive absence from the tournament. The four-time champions were eliminated after a 4–1 penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in last month’s play-off final.
The fallout has been significant. Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina resigned amid mounting pressure, while former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stepped down from his role as delegation chief. Head coach Gennaro Gattuso also left his position.
Donnarumma urged the team to move forward and focus on rebuilding ahead of upcoming competitions.
“We have to start afresh and move on,” he said.
“There are four years until the next World Cup, but before that we have important tournaments like the European Championship and the Nations League. We need to focus on those and bounce back strongly.”
