Gianluigi Donnarumma faced the media ahead of Manchester City's 25/26 Champions League opener against Napoli at the Etihad. He is fresh off a hugely impressive debut against Manchester United in the derby on the weekend.
Here is everything he had to say:
"I thank the manager, to me it is an honour and a pride to be here and to have him as my coach. It is football history so I am really excited to be here.
I definitely still have a lot to improve and can give so much more, that is my objective, to keep improving and give my all for the team."
City being the only club he wanted:
"I was very clear, my desire was to come here. That was my first and only option, the only thing I wanted."
Targeting winning the Champions League this season:
"Definitely, it is one of the objectives we have. We have to always dream big but do it with humility. We have to think match after match.
Tomorrow will be difficult, the first one in the Champions League is always the most complex one. We do it with a huge team against a huge team.
I know Napoli very well, the city very well and the coach very well. Some of my national team-mates are there so I know it is a great team we are playing against."
“I was very clear; my desire was to join Man City. That was my first and only option, the only thing I wanted”.
— PureFootball (@PureFootball_co) September 17, 2025
- Gianluigi Donnarumma pic.twitter.com/Q42lnSqmWB
On his ball playing ability:
"I always try to improve. I’m now with this coach who is one of the best in these situations. He can definitely help me a lot. We can do lots of things together and I’m sure we’ll have great success.
You have to sniff out danger, when you’re in a tricky moment you have to be able to read certain situations in a match. There are moments you can play and moments where it’s better to kick it long and to avoid dangerous situations.
You have to be good at knowing how to read the situations."
On facing Napoli:
"The difficulties, I know how the coach will prepare, how he wants things. I know it will be hard to defend and to attack. It will be very complicated because they will defend very well.
There are new players that are very strong. They've come from the Premier League so they know how to play against City so that will be complicated and difficult. We have to be careful."
On leaving PSG:
"I don’t really like to talk about the past and some people make their own decisions, it’s part of football. Now I’m here, I’m happy and very proud.
I wish my old team-mates the best because they deserve it. I’ve got a great relationship with them. They’ve always shown me affection even when they knew I was leaving.
For me that was a very big thing to know I’d left something important to my ex-team-mates. This makes me proud as well."
