The early days of Gennaro Gattuso's reign at AC Milan have been about as dramatic as you would expect.On the pitch, results have been mixed. The club legend's first game ended with a shock equaliser from rock bottom Benevento's goalkeeper, before the ignominy of a Europa League defeat to Rijeka.Two wins on the trot have followed, but amidst all this, a bizarre sub-plot has developed surrounding young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.Ahead of the 3-0 win over Verona in the Coppa Italia, Rossoneri fans booed the teenager's name when the teams were announced.What followed was even worse, with a vitriolic banner reading:"Moral violence, 6 million per year and your parasite brother? Now go away, the patience is over."

Still only just 18-years-old, the promising stopper has fallen out of favour with the San Siro faithful because of reports in Italy that he was unhappy with the contract he signed in the summer.

There were plenty of rumours that he would leave, and there are now fresh suggestions, including from La Gazzetta dello Sport, that he wants the deal effectively cancelled by his agent, Mino Raiola.

Milan fans were furious 

It should be stressed that the story originated in Corriere della Sera - in other words, it never actually came out of the player's mouth.

Yet, that seems to have escaped the supporters in question. Donnarumma was visibly shocked by their behaviour and had to be comforted by experienced defender Leonardo Bonucci.

Now he has had time to compose himself, he has taken to Instagram - it's fair to say his message shows his class:

In English, it reads:

"It was a bad evening, one I did not expect. I have never said or written that I suffered moral violence when I signed the contract. Despite everything, I look forward with my head focused on the next game. Forza Milan!"

By "moral violence", he's referring to claims that he felt forced to commit to a contract extension.

Milan's statement

In a thinly-veiled dig at Raiola, Milan's sporting director insisted they "know where the evil comes from", and while they will continue to protect Donnarumma, they are aware of "someone who is damaging our image", per the BBC.

"Gigio has never said he wants to leave. There's someone who is trying to organise something deliberately, but we will look out for Milan's interests in every arena.

"Gigio is very young. It's not entirely his fault. We'll always protect him, he's our asset. We know where the evil comes from, we hope to solve this issue over the next few months."

What do you make of how Milan fans have treated him? Have your say in the comments.