Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has admitted he’s already spoken to Sandro Tonali ahead of their meeting on Saturday.
Sky Sports Italy have an interview with the Manchester City goalkeeper today. In a brief clip from that, he jokes about his relationship with the Newcastle man.
The pair have a long-standing friendship after both playing for AC Milan. They overlapped each other from 2020 to 2021. They’re also teammates on the international stage both playing for Italy. Indeed, they were teammates when they won Euro 2020.
Now they both find themselves in the Premier League. Tonali has played at Newcastle since 2023, while Donnarumma joined Manchester City from Paris Saint Germain this summer.
This weekend will be the first time they’ve gone head-to-head. Newcastle host Pep Guardiola’s side at St James Park on Saturday evening. That means the Italian duo will need to put their usual allegiances to one side for 90 minutes at least.
That might be something of a strange sensation for the pair. And Donnarumma admits they’ve already been joking about it beforehand.
“We joked around a bit; we have a wonderful relationship,” he is quoted as saying.
“He’ll try to score against me, but he won’t succeed. If he scores, I’m sure he’ll celebrate in front of me. It will be difficult; they’re a great team.”