Football
ESPN staff 7y

Donnarumma, Raiola set to meet with AC Milan despite claims of social hack

Agent Mino Raiola has confirmed he and Gianluigi Donnarumma will meet with AC Milan to discuss a new contract following the goalkeeper's participation at the Under-21 Euros, ending a day's worth of confusion on social media which led to the player claiming one of his accounts had been hacked.

The coveted goalkeeper stated earlier this month he would not be extending his contract with the club, sparking an angry reaction from some Milan fans to both the player and Raiola.

After the news was announced, fans at the European Under-21 Championship threw fake dollar bills at the Italy keeper during a game against Denmark.

And on Sunday afternoon, Donnarumma tweeted his support for Raiola amid reports in Italy that he was ready to part company with his representative by writing: "#Donnarumma #Raiola Yesterday, today and tomorrow!"

But the 18-year-old later appeared to use his Instagram account to apologise for the "uproar" the tweet caused, and stated he would meet with the San Siro club after the U21 Euros to discuss a new deal.

"Today my tweet sparked a real uproar, which I did not wish to create, so for that I apologise," the post said.

"I wish to reiterate my absolute love for Milan and its fans. Now all that's in my mind is the national team, with whom I hope to give a gift to all the supporters.

"My promise is that, as soon as the [U21] Euros are finished, I will meet the club along with my family and my agent to discuss my renewal."

His account was disabled soon after the message was posted, and Donnarumma returned to Twitter to announce it had been hacked, with Raiola also tweeting: "DONNARAIOLA x HATERS 1-0. What's next?"

However, Raiola was back on Twitter to clear up the confusion not long after, finally confirming that he and Donnarumma would, in fact, be meeting with Milan after the tournament.

Raiola wrote: "Tweets' between me and Gigi are tweets of friendship.

"After Euros we'll meet Milan. Now Nazionale is important."

Last week, Milan coach Vincenzo Montella visited Donnarumma's family in an attempt to convince Gianluigi, who has been linked with both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, to stay.

Montella held talks with Donnarumma's parents, and the player's father, Alfonso, told La Gazzetta dello Sport he believed the situation would calm down.

"I hope that all the massive media interest in this ends soon," he said.

"We parents are not influencing Gigio's decision in the slightest -- we just hope he gets what is best for him and what makes him happy."

Former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato believes Donnarumma would be right to turn his back on the Rossoneri and move to Real Madrid, saying that times have changed since he snubbed the Spaniards to join Milan in 2007.

Real are reported to be leading the chase to sign a man tipped to fill Gianluigi Buffon's gloves as Italy's No. 1for the next two decades and Pato says a move to the Champions League holders would make perfect sense.

"He's 18 but he's already a hugely talented player and he is being managed by a very intelligent agent," Pato told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Certainly he will have his reasons and doing what he feels is right. "When I was 17, I had the opportunity to go to Real Madrid, but I chose Milan because they were the bigger, more successful club at the time. Now things are different and this is a different Milan.

"[Carlo] Ancelotti told me that the best players should always be with the best clubs and if you are good enough, you should be playing no matter what your age. When I was 17, I was playing with [Clarence] Seedorf, [Andrea] Pirlo, [Paolo] Maldini, Kaka and many others."

Pato won Serie A with Milan in 2011 -- the last time the Rossoneri won a significant trophy, although they have lifted the Italian Supercoppa twice since. In that time, Real have won 12 trophies, including becoming the first club to win back-to-back Champions Leagues with victory over Juventus in Cardiff earlier this month.

ESPN FC's Italy correspondent Ben Gladwell contributed to this report

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