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Goalkeeper Donnarumma announces he is leaving PSG after being left out of UEFA Super Cup match

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Goalkeeper Donnarumma announces he is leaving PSG after being left out of UEFA Super Cup match
Sport

Sport

Goalkeeper Donnarumma announces he is leaving PSG after being left out of UEFA Super Cup match

2025-08-13 05:11 Last Updated At:05:20

PARIS (AP) — Just hours after being left out of Paris Saint-Germain's squad for Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup final against Tottenham, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma posted a message saying he is leaving the club.

When PSG named its squad for the match earlier on Tuesday, goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, who recently joined from Lille for just over 40 million euros ($46 million), was included along with backup goalies Matvei Safonov and Renato Marin.

Chevalier's arrival was expected to signal Donnarumma’s departure, with the 26-year-old Italy international unlikely to accept being No. 2 if coach Luis Enrique decided so. Donnarumma then posted a message in Italian, English and French on his Instagram account saying he had effectively been forced out.

“Unfortunately, someone has decided that I can no longer be part of the group and contribute to the team's success," he wrote. "I am disappointed and disheartened.”

He bade farewell to fans ahead of the new season.

“I hope to have the opportunity to look the fans at the Parc des Princes in the eyes one more time and say goodbye as it should be done,” Donnarumma said. “I will always carry with me the memory of all the emotions, the magical nights and of you, who made me feel at home.”

Donnarumma did not name the person who no longer wants him in the squad, but in a pre-match news conference PSG coach Luis Enrique explained why he had signed Chevalier.

“These are always difficult decisions to make, I know. I can only say good things about Gigio (Gianluigi). He's one of the best players in his position, without a doubt, and he's even better as a person,” Luis Enrique said. “We were looking for a different type of goalkeeper. And I repeat, it’s always difficult to make a decision like that.”

It is thought that Chevalier's superior passing from the back— which has been a noticeable shortcoming for Donnarumma — was a crucial factor in the decision.

However, Donnarumma was arguably the best goalkeeper in Europe last season, playing a key role in PSG’s Champions League success with inspired shot-stopping in the knockout stages. He also starred for Italy when it won the European Championship in 2021.

But with one year left on his contract, Donnarumma had refused to sign a new contract and PSG was unlikely to let him leave for free at the end of the season. He has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League big-spender Manchester City, with Manchester United also reportedly interested.

PSG experienced the same situation two seasons ago with Kylian Mbappé, who ended up joining Real Madrid on a free transfer after refusing to take up the option of a one-year contract extension.

Donnarumma was in a similar position to Chevalier when he joined the club after helping Italy win the Euros. He replaced Keylor Navas as No. 1, even though Navas had been outstanding for PSG the previous season.

Donnarumma's arrival at PSG was seen by fans as hugely unfair on Navas and a clumsy move by the club. Now the situation has come full circle for the Italy keeper, who finds himself in much the same position as Navas was.

“If he has to go, then we thank him from the bottom of our hearts,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “He has been a great leader all these years. Seeing Donnarumma leave would upset me.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Lille's goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saves on an attempt to score by Liverpool's Conor Bradley during the Champions League, opening phase soccer match at Anfield Stadium, in Liverpool, England, Jan.21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

FILE - Lille's goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier saves on an attempt to score by Liverpool's Conor Bradley during the Champions League, opening phase soccer match at Anfield Stadium, in Liverpool, England, Jan.21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

FILE - PSG's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kisses the trophy after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

FILE - PSG's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kisses the trophy after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz by his Monday deadline and Tehran called his threat “unbalanced and foolish." The search for a missing U.S. military pilot continued Saturday in a remote part of the Islamic Republic.

Trump has called Tehran “beaten and completely decimated " in the war, now in its sixth week, but the downing of two U.S. warplanes on Friday and Iran’s call to find the “enemy pilot” have again raised the stakes.

“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country's joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.

The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened, and hit, civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

“We will continue to crush them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, and confirmed that Israel's military struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr that he said helps to fund the war. Five people were killed and 170 injured, Iranian state media reported, citing a provincial security official.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, said that 198 workers were being evacuated. It was the fourth time the facility was targeted.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told The Associated Press that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track" after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that Iranian officials “have never refused to go to Islamabad.”

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

Trump reminded Iran of his deadline in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them."

The U.S. warplane, identified by Iran as a F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday. Iran’s joint military command on Saturday said that it also struck two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, but the AP couldn’t independently verify that.

The search for the U.S. pilot focused on a mountainous region in Iran’s southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. An anchor on a channel affiliated with Iranian state television urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police.

In an email from the Pentagon, obtained by the AP, the military said that it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East. A U.S. crew member was rescued. The Pentagon notified the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member wasn't known.

Trump told NBC News that what happened wouldn't affect negotiations with Iran.

A second U.S. Air Force combat aircraft went down in the Middle East on Friday, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation. It wasn't clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down, or whether Iran was involved.

Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iran’s defense forces.

The Dubai offices of tech company Oracle was hit after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened the firm. Footage verified by the AP outside the UAE showed a large hole in the building's southwestern corner.

The sheikhdom’s Dubai Media Office, which speaks for its government, noted a “minor incident caused by debris from an aerial interception that fell on the facade," saying there were no injuries. Oracle Corp., based in Texas, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Guard has accused some large U.S. tech companies of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations against the Islamic Republic and called them legitimate targets. Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and Bahrain were hit in earlier drone strikes.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.

The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.

“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and there have been more than 1 million displaced people. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

Jon Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; and Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Will Weissert, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro and Ben Finley in Washington, contributed to this report.

A displaced family, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon, make a bonfire next to a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A displaced family, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon, make a bonfire next to a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People raise their hands during a protest calling for an end to the war in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

People raise their hands during a protest calling for an end to the war in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

People raise their hands during a protest calling for an end to the war in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

People raise their hands during a protest calling for an end to the war in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A worker cleans an area within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex, with the mosque visible in the background, that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A worker cleans an area within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex, with the mosque visible in the background, that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Travelers arrive to cross into Turkey at the Razi border crossing, in Razi, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Travelers arrive to cross into Turkey at the Razi border crossing, in Razi, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Israeli security forces inspect damage at an apartment building struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

Israeli security forces inspect damage at an apartment building struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A photographer takes pictures of damage at Shahid Beheshti University after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Friday in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A photographer takes pictures of damage at Shahid Beheshti University after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Friday in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Travelers approach on foot the border crossing with Turkey at the Razi crossing in Razi, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Travelers approach on foot the border crossing with Turkey at the Razi crossing in Razi, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A row of chairs is seen through a hole left by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Friday at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A row of chairs is seen through a hole left by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Friday at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Iraqi women hold a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in the Shi'ite district of Kazimiyah in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraqi women hold a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in the Shi'ite district of Kazimiyah in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A woman checks a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman checks a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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