Donnarumma denies Italy players wanted bonus for World Cup qualification

April 9 : Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma said he was hurt by reports claiming the national team's players had demanded a bonus if they qualified for this year’s World Cup.

Four-times champions Italy missed out on the finals for the the third consecutive time after losing 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in last month’s playoff final.

“As captain, I never went to ask the Italian national team for a single euro,” Donnarumma told Sky Sports Italia.

“What the national team does, as always, in every competition, is give a gift to the players who qualify for a tournament.

“That was all there was to it, but nobody asked the federation for anything; our reward was getting to go to the World Cup.”

Italy’s failure to qualify for the June 11 to July 19 tournament in North America resulted in Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina resigning amid political pressure and the country's former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stepping down as the team’s delegation chief.

Head coach Gennaro Gattuso also left his position.

“We have to start afresh, move on,” Donnarumma, 27, said.

“We have to bounce back; there are four years until the next World Cup, and in the meantime there are major competitions like the European Championship and the Nations League.

“Before thinking about the World Cup, we need to focus on these big tournaments in between and we need to start again strongly straight away.”