Donnarumma speaks out for the first time after Zenica: "I was hurt by the lies that were made public"

Donnarumma faced criticism and whistles from the crowd at Bilino Polje due to his insolent behavior throughout the match. Besides time-wasting, which is not so unexpected or shocking, the goalkeeper was the first in every confrontation, attacked BiH players, and at one point even physically charged at Amar Dedić.

The City goalkeeper was the captain of Italy in the matches against Northern Ireland and BiH, and after a week of silence, he decided to speak out about everything and highlight what hurt him the most.

Donnarumma says that no one in the Italian national team asked for bonuses for qualifying for the World Cup. Italian media reported that Italian players demanded a €10,000 bonus each for a win against BiH before the final match in Zenica.

"What hurt me the most is that lies came to light. As captain, I never asked the national team for a single euro. What happens in the national team, as in every competition, is that players are given a bonus if they achieve the goal. That's all there was, and no one asked the federation for anything," Donnarumma told Sky Sports, adding:

"Our gift would have been qualifying for the World Cup. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The comments and words that were spoken hurt me more than anything else," added the Italian captain.

Donnarumma was hit by the fact that he will no longer work with Gennaro Gattuso, Gabriele Gravina, and Gianluigi Buffon, who resigned from the national team and federation after the debacle in Zenica.

"I had a wonderful relationship with Gigi, Gattuso, and Gravina. First of all, we feel sorry for them; it's natural to feel somewhat responsible for everything that's happening now, and it hurts. But I want to thank the manager, the president, and Gigi because they made an important contribution," added Donnarumma.

Finally, the Italian captain says that everyone must turn to a better future and forget what happened.

"It's hard, but we must move forward with strength and the awareness that Italy will come back strong, that it will come back brilliant. The first two days were very tough and exhausting. It hurts, it really hurts. In the first days, I struggled to accept it. But the truth is that you have to start again, move forward, react," concluded the Manchester City goalkeeper.