One of the polarizing figures at Paris Saint-Germain is goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The 24-year-old has been criticized by PSG supporters and Italians when he’s with the national team.
Nonetheless, Donnarumma is having one former goalkeeper come to his defense. Ex-Real Madrid man Iker Casillas provided words of encouragement to the PSG shot-stopper. He states
“He is strong and I am sorry that he has been criticized a lot lately,” Casillas told Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Le10Sport). “In the Euro that he won he was the undisputed protagonist, but now he is also paying for the difficult moments of PSG. He started at 16, almost like me and Buffon and it really takes a lot of courage.”
Arriving with the label as the best player of UEFA Euro 2020, Donnarumma eventually became PSG’s starter over Keylor Navas. Furthermore, Navas even left on loan last season.
Still, with Navas back and many having a short leash with Donnarumma, it will be interesting to see if Navas’ presence affects the former AC Milan star. It can go either two ways: Donnarumma can use this as a motivational tool to prove he’s the No. 1 starter.
However, there’s the other option: it could hurt his confidence having someone of Navas’ caliber behind him, knowing a slip-up could result in many calling for the veteran.
