La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights that Gigio Donnarumma has the ‘quality, fame and visibility’ to win the Ballon d’Or in the coming years, but the ‘bitter truth’ is that he’ll need to achieve outstanding results with the Italy national team.
Donnarumma confirmed his status as the best Italian player on Monday as he ranked 9th at the Ballon d’Or and won the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the year.
Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Filippo Maria Ricci analysed the goalkeeper’s career trajectory, suggesting that the 26-year-old, who moved to Manchester City in the summer transfer window, has the potential to win the Ballon d’Or in the coming years.
Can Donnarumma win the Ballon d’Or?
Gianluigi Donnarumma during a press conference at Coverciano on September 3, 2025.
“The European Championship won with Italy at Wembley in 2021 earned him his first Yashin Trophy, the award for the best goalkeeper of the year. PSG’s long-awaited Champions League title brought him the second, handed to him last night at the Theatre du Chatelet,” wrote the Gazzetta journalist.
“Gigio can dream even bigger. He has the quality, the fame, the visibility and a great club behind him to aim for the ultimate prize: the Ballon d’Or. To do so, however, he needs the national team.”
Donnarumma is only 26 but has already won the Euros with the Italy national team and the Champions League with PSG.
The Italian, however, has yet to make his first appearance at a World Cup as the Azzurri failed to qualify for the competition in 2018 and 2022.
“In 2021, thanks to the Euros, he finished 10th. Yesterday, without the Azzurri to bolster his case, he placed 9th,” Filippo Maria Ricci continued.
Donnarumma, the Ballon d’Or and a ‘bitter truth’
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JULY 05: Gianluigi Donnarumma #1 of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after Desire Doue #14 (not pictured) scores his team’s first goal during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 quarter-final match between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Bayern München at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 05, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
“History tells us that Lev Yashin, the Russian goalkeeper after whom the trophy is named, remains the only No.1 to have won the Ballon d’Or in 1963, ahead of a 20-year-old Gianni Rivera. Ten years later, Dino Zoff, at 21, finished second behind Johan Cruyff; the Czech Viktor was third in 1976. Buffon, Gigio’s idol, came second in 2006 behind Fabio Cannavaro, and Germany’s Manuel Neuer finished third in 2014.
“Those last two names, along with Donnarumma’s first Yashin Trophy, inevitably bring us to a bitter truth. Recognition for goalkeepers in this kind of award comes almost exclusively in the wake of a great international performance, especially and above all, at the World Cup.”
View publisher imprint
