Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has responded to the criticism he has been facing for his role in Jamal Musiala’s horror injury.
His agent, Vincenzo Raiola, recently said that the criticism has been unfair because Donnarumma is a very sensitive human being.
Speaking to the press, Raiola said that the goalkeeper only walked away from the scene because he wouldn’t have been able to watch Musiala endure the pain of his horrific injury.
According to him, the Italian only left the scene to let the doctors give the German midfielder the treatment he required at that moment, not because he didn’t care.
He stated that Donnarumma even sent him a text message at halftime to express how shaken he was after the unfortunate incident.
“He didn’t want to pretend nothing had happened. Gigio is a very sensitive boy. He wouldn’t have been able to stand the scene and preferred to walk away to let the doctors take care of Musiala as best he could. Once in the locker room he even turned on his phone.
In all the years we’ve worked together he’s never done that. Usually he turns it off an hour before kick-off to concentrate on the match and turns it back on after the game. This time he sent me a message to tell me he was shaken and that he hadn’t done it on purpose. He was very worried and saddened,” he said.
Raiola further noted that while it is very normal for Manuel Neuer to defend his teammate and compatriot, it was just an unlucky collision between a goalie and the opponent.
The agent concluded by saying that Neuer himself has confessed that he once risked hurting an opponent while he tried to avert a danger for his team.
“In reality, I understand Neuer. As [Thibaut] Courtois says, it’s normal for him to defend his team-mate. And he’s also right when he says that you can behave differently. It’s true but we are all different and everyone behaves as they can.
It was an episode of play in the eternal duel between goalkeepers and forwards. In December, Gigio almost lost an eye in a clash with a Monaco player. And Neuer also punched Gonzalo Higuain in 2014, in a match between national teams. Then he apologised even if he admitted that he wanted to avert a danger for his team, knowing that he risked hurting the opponent,” he added.
