As he was nearly 6ft tall by the age of 10, Gianluigi Donnarumma has always known how it is to stand out from the crowd.
The Italy goalkeeper has spent his career in the limelight, making his debut for boyhood heroes AC Milan aged just 16 and emerging as the natural heir to Gianluigi Buffon, one of the greatest the country has ever produced.
If Sunday's Euro 2020 final against England at Wembley goes to penalties, Donnarumma will have Italy fans feeling confident. He has come out on top in all four competitive shootouts he has contested, even though he missed his own attempt as Milan defeated Portuguese club Rio Ave in a Europa League qualifier at the beginning of last season.
Gianluigi Donnarumma could be the reason England fail to claim the Euro 2020 trophy
When the semi-final against Spain went to penalties, Donnarumma was decisive. His 6ft 5in frame surely played a part in Dani Olmo — nerveless from the spot in the quarter-final against Switzerland — firing his effort over the bar, before he made light work of Alvaro Morata’s kick, allowing Jorginho to send Italy into the final.
In a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, Donnarumma is the one stellar name, the only player in Italy’s XI who could legitimately claim to be the best in the world in his position.
He has just signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain worth nearly £200,000 a week after running down his deal with Milan. The 22-year-old has not even played a game for his new club, yet thanks to his performances in the tournament, they are already calling him ‘Golden Hands’ in the French capital.
Goalkeeper Donnarumma made his debut for boyhood heroes AC Milan at just 16 years old
He has just signed a five-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain worth nearly £200,000 a week
International football has not always been so sweet for Donnarumma, however. He turned up at the 2017 European Under 21 Championship while agent Mino Raiola — who also represents Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba —was trying to secure a huge pay rise for Donnarumma, then only 18.
Distracted by the noise surrounding his future, he had a poor tournament and that, combined with his contract talks, incited fans on social media, who mocked up bank notes with his face on them and gave him the nickname ‘Dollarumma’.
Despite the size of his deal with
