Luis Campos explains why PSG allowed Gianluigi Donnarumma to join Manchester City

PSG sporting director Luis Campos said the club allowed goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to leave this summer because of a mismatch over contract demands and a broader change in the club’s transfer strategy.

Donnarumma, 26, who was instrumental in PSG’s first Champions League title in 2024-25, joined Manchester City for around £26 million and made a positive debut in City's 3-0 victory over Manchester United. Campos told French outlet RMC Sport that initial talks to renew Donnarumma’s contract faltered over salary expectations and that the club’s evolving financial approach made reaching an agreement difficult.

"Donnarumma was one of the first players we approached about renewing his contract," Campos said. "But we quickly realised it would be difficult due to his demands, and the club is more important than any one player." Campos added that "things have changed at PSG, and Donna asked for a salary at the level of the old PSG, not the current one."

Campos said coach Luis Enrique viewed the situation as an opportunity to alter the squad’s profile. PSG signed former France youth international Lucas Chevalier from Lille for a fee rising to €55 million (£47.6 million) to take the club’s goalkeeping position forward. The 23-year-old has made a positive start at the Parc des Princes, Campos said.

The sporting director framed the moves as part of a deliberate shift away from the era in which PSG spent heavily on established global stars. In recent seasons the club signed the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, but Campos said PSG has since focused on acquiring younger talent, lowering the wage bill and reshaping the squad to suit Enrique's footballing model.

"From then on (after the differences), the coach said we could take advantage of this to make the team better on the ball, and if we can, we want to make PSG more French," Campos told RMC Sport. "If there's a player whose profile fits the team, then we'll try to bring him in."

Campos also defended the club’s wider summer activity, saying PSG completed the business it set out to do, including the signing of defender Illia Zabarnyi and the departures of Milan Škriniar, Marco Asensio and Carlos Soler. "We worked together and did everything we wanted to do," he said. "No regrets about the market."

Fields of negotiation and squad planning were central to Campos’s account. He said he had engaged with Enrique’s requests throughout the window and described close cooperation between sporting staff and the coach as a key reason for the club’s recent success.

"Throughout my career as a sporting director, I've always listened to my coaches' requests; that's one of the secrets to my success. I want to help them so they can focus solely on the team," Campos said.

Donnarumma’s exit comes after a season in which he helped PSG capture their first European Cup, and his early displays for Manchester City underline his continued standing among top goalkeepers. PSG’s recruitment strategy will be watched closely as the club balances on-field ambitions with a restructured wage model and a push to integrate younger players into a side built to Enrique’s specifications.