Donnarumma denies reports claiming Italy players wanted bonus for World Cup qualification

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has denied the reports claiming national team players had demanded a bonus for this year’s World Cup qualification.

Four-time champions Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time following a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties in last month’s playoff final.

Donnarumma said as a captain, he never asked for a single euro; their reward was to qualify for the mega event.

“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 tournament set to be played from June 11 to July 19 in North America resulted in Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina's resignation, amid political pressure, and the team’s delegation chief, the country's former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, also stepped down.

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.”