What Manuel Neuer said to Gianluigi Donnarumma has been revealed after the two goalkeepers clashed during the Club World Cup quarter-final. Paris Saint-Germain claimed a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday night, setting up a semi-final against Real Madrid.
The spat stemmed from Jamal Musiala's sickening first-half injury, after a 50-50 challenge with Donnarumma just before half-time left his foot twisted out of place. The Italian goalkeeper walked away with the ball but dropped to his knees in shock after realising the severity of the injury (watch his reaction below). A stretcher was quickly called to take Musiala off the pitch.
The replay of the injury was understandably not shown on the stadium’s big screens, and Bayern sporting director Max Eberl later confirmed that the 22-year-old had been taken to hospital. Neuer has now broken his silence on the incident, which occurred during a tense match that also saw PSG’s Lucas Hernandez and Willian Pacho sent off late in the game.
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What Manuel Neuer Said To Gianluigi Donnarumma
There has been a lot of backlash aimed at the Italian shot-stopper
Gianluigi Donnarumma
"A situation where you don't have to go in like that," Neuer told reporters about Donnarumma, as per ESPN. "That's risky. He's willing to accept the risk of injuring his opponent."
"I went up to him and said, 'Don't you want to go over to our player?' It's only right to go over and wish the guy well. He did that in the end. Fairness is always important ... I would have reacted differently."
After confirming Musiala was taken to hospital, with that visit now resulting in the confirmation of a broken fibula and damage to several ligaments in the leg and foot, Bayern's Sporting Director also took a swipe at Donnarumma, adding:
"When Donnarumma jump onto Musiala's lower leg while sprinting, weighing 100 kg, there's a high risk of something happening... I don't think he did it intentionally, but he wasn't being considerate!"
Donnarumma later posted a photo on Instagram of himself looking distraught following the injury, along with a message for Musiala that read: "All my prayers and well wishes are with you."