Man Utd target Gianluigi Donnarumma's 'controversial £1m contract demand' rubbished by club

Manchester United and Manchester City look set to do battle in the transfer market for wantaway PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian has confirmed he is sure to leave the French capital this summer, having been frozen out.

Donnarumma played a starring role for Les Parisiens as they won the Champions League last season, but after the arrival of French international Lucas Chevalier, his days in Paris seem numbered. Both the red and sky blue halves of Manchester are now supposedly interested.

Ruben Amorim's side are in need of a quality shot-stopper, with Altay Bayindir's flaws exposed in their 1-0 loss to Arsenal and Andre Onana making multiple mistakes last term. City, on the other hand, seemed to have found their No.1 for the future this summer in the form of James Trafford.

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But with Ederson set to leave, having been linked with Turkish side Galatasaray, Pep Guardiola remains interested in bringing in the 26-year-old Italian. Where Donnarumma will end up is unknown, but he has been involved in controversial transfer negotiations before, namely in 2017 when he re-signed with boyhood AC Milan, and rumours of a clause involving his brother arose.

In 2017, a still-teenage Donnarumma had become AC Milan's starting goalkeeper and was considered one of the most promising shot-stoppers in Europe. With his contract up, he seemed destined to go elsewhere, with the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid waiting in the wings, but a drastic U-turn occurred.

Although the player's agent, the late Mino Raiola, declared he would not re-sign at the San Siro, Donnarumma put pen to paper on a new deal until 2021, with some alleged interesting clauses insisted upon.

It was reported at the time that as part of this new deal, Donnarumma's brother, Antonio, 27, who was also a goalkeeper playing for Asteras Tripolis, would have to be signed by I Rossoneri. This £1m transfer was completed just one day after the younger brother had penned his new contract.

Antonio was paid roughly £850,000 annually, six times less than his younger sibling. However, AC Milan's sporting director, Massimiliano Mirabelli, made headlines for rubbishing the existence of any clause in Donnarumma's new contract.

"The first thing we had to do was to renew Gigio's contract, but I immediately had the idea of bringing in his brother Antonio too," he admitted in 2017.

"The technical evaluation comes first and I think Antonio can be a 12th man for Milan. He is not a postage parcel like someone said. I'm sorry for him if certain things have been written.

"Vincenzo Montella [former AC Milan manager] also endorsed this signing. I know him well and I wanted to bring the family back together. I'm proud to present the Donnarumma pair."

Antonio, who had played for AC Milan in his youth before moving on to Genoa, outraged some fans with his arrival. However, he released a kind-hearted message eight years ago after he made a move that was subject to contrasting reports and remains somewhat of a mystery.

"I will be in the dressing room with my brother, which makes me very happy. It is a beautiful thing to be back at Milan," admitted Antonio, who currently plays for Serie C side Salernitana.

After his deal expired, Donnarumma left for PSG in 2021 and now looks set for a new chapter. His brother, Antonio, also departed Milan four years ago, moving to Padova shortly after his sibling's exit, and ended up with his current outfit by way of Torino.

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