AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has apologised for the "uproar" surrounding his future on Sunday, when the 18-year-old appeared to promise fresh contract talks with the San Siro club via social media before deleting his account and claiming he'd been hacked.
Donnarumma earlier this month stated he would not be extending his contract with the club, sparking an angry reaction from some Milan fans to both the player and his agent Mino Raiola.
And on Sunday afternoon, Donnarumma tweeted his support for Raiola amid reports in Italy that he was ready to part company with his representative by writing: "#Donnarumma #Raiola Yesterday, today and tomorrow!"
Later, a message on Donnarumma's Instagram feed appeared apologising for the "uproar" the tweet caused and reiterated the Italy international's "absolute love for Milan and its fans" while vowing to discuss a contract renewal with the Rossoneri immediately following his participation in the ongoing European Under-21 Championship.
Hackeraggio sul mio account
— Gianluigi Donnarumma (@gigiodonna1) June 25, 2017
Chiudo social https://t.co/GMkxsdZsct
DONNARAIOLA x HATERS 1-0
— Mino Raiola (@MinoRaiola) June 25, 2017
What's next?
Soon after, the Instagram account was disabled, and Donnarumma took to Twitter to claim his account had been hacked, with Raiola posting a cryptic Twitter message of his own, saying: "DONNARAIOLA x HATERS 1-0. What's next?"
However, Raiola was back on Twitter not long after, attempting to set the record straight, and finally confirmed that he and Donnarumma would, in fact, be meeting with Milan after the tournament.
On Monday, Donnarumma, who is preparing for Italy's semifinal match against Spain on Tuesday, apologised in person for the previous day's confusion.
He told a news conference: "I wanted to come here. I wanted to show that I'm calm and thinking about tomorrow's game. I'm sorry this uproar has been created around me.
"Now I'm just thinking about the Spain game, my future will be spoken about after the national team. Social media can be both fun and not, but I use it to pass a bit of time."
Donnarumma's current contract with AC Milan ends next summer.