Manchester City insider details why Pep Guardiola pursued marquee Gianluigi Donnarumma signing

A new report has outlined why Pep Guardiola uncharacteristically pursued the big-name signing of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.

Donnarumma completed a deadline day transfer to the Etihad Stadium for £26 million, with the 26-year-old signing a five-year deal with Manchester City after a contract dispute with Paris Saint-Germain culminated in a parting of ways.

Manchester City brought James Trafford back from Burnley in July, signing their 22-year-old academy graduate for £27 million to bolster their options between the sticks whilst there were doubts over the future(s) of Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno.

Paris Saint-Germain held contract renewal talks with Donnarumma in the summer, with the Italy international entering the final year of his deal at the Parc des Princes. However, negotiations met an impasse over disagreements over the goalkeeper’s salary.

Donnarumma, who joined PSG from boyhood club AC Milan in 2021, wanted a hike on his salary at the Parc des Princes, was ousted by Lucas Chavelier from Lille, who fulfilled Luis Enrique’s demands of a goalkeeper able to play out from the back.

City decided to step up their pursuit of Donnarumma on deadline day after allowing Ederson to travel to Turkey to put the final touches on a £12.1 million transfer to Fenerbahce, with Donnarumma signing his Manchester City contract and undergoing a medical in Florence whilst on duty with the Italy National Team.

The last-minute opportunistic addition of Donnarumma, widely regarded as one of the world’s best shotstoppers, rounded off a complete overhaul of Manchester City’s goalkeeping department this summer – after the signings of Trafford and Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea.

A new report from Paul Hirst for Times Sport has detailed the reasoning behind Pep Guardiola’s desire to add Donnarumma to his squad, with several industry figures stating that the Italian’s ineptness on the ball makes him an unconventional signing at the Etihad Stadium.

The report states that a prospective move for Donnarumma – one of the best in the world in Guardiola’s opinion – seemed too good an opportunity to turn down for Manchester City in a volatile market that has seen them conduct a major revamp of their first-team squad since January.

Hugo Viana’s appointment as director of football has followed the departure of several senior stars who have been integral to Manchester City’s success over the years, with the Blues recruiting young and promoting academy graduates such as Oscar Bobb into their first-team.

Donnarumma was understood to have expressed his desire of joining forces with Guardiola when Manchester City initially expressed their interest in the former PSG man, with the likes of Manchester United not of interest to the Italian when he was assessing his options in the window.

Guardiola is yet to decide upon Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper amongst Trafford and Donnarumma, with the pair expected to be handed ample opportunities in net to make their respective cases for the starting XI as the 2025-26 season progresses.