Gianluigi Donnarumma admitted to AFP on Monday that he would have preferred to stay at Paris Saint-Germain before a shock switch to Manchester City this month.
Donnarumma, winner of the best goalkeeper award at the Ballon d'Or award ceremony on Monday for his key role in PSG's Champions League triumph last season, replied "yes" when asked if he would have liked to stay with the club.
"When you have shared a lot with people and spent a lot of time and made friends, it's difficult (to leave)," he admitted.
Donnarumma, 26, was allowed to leave after PSG signed French goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier this summer.
The Italian goalkeeper signed a five-year deal with Pep Guardiola's City after moving in a £26 million ($35 million) deal.
He said City were "an extraordinary club with extraordinary players and they welcomed me like a family, and that is very important for me".
Donnarumma won the Yashin award for the second time on Monday and thanked his former PSG teammates for their part in his brilliant season.
💬 Gianluigi Donnarumma speech after winning the 2025 Men's Yachine Trophy#ballondor pic.twitter.com/hJODAiM6gP
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025
"This is wonderful, congratulations to the whole team, without them I wouldn't be here, it was the whole team," he said.
He also won the award in 2021 after Italy won the European Championship.