The legendary Italian goalkeeper and a Juventus legend, Gianluigi Buffon has been heavily linked with his return back to his old club Juventus after announcing refusing to extend his contract, which will result in his departure from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on June 30th.
TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 27: Juventus FC goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon gestures during the UEFA Champions League group D match between Juventus and Olympiakos Piraeus at Juventus Stadium on September 27, 2017 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images )
The 41-year old legend, Gianluigi Buffon is mostly known for his performances in Juventus, a team he joined in 2001 for a fee of € 52.88 million. Ever since the summer of 2001, Gianluigi Buffon became a key player in the success of Juventus, a team he helped win 9 Serie A titles, 4 Coppa Italia and 5 Supercoppa Italiana, on top of which, he also won the 2006 World Cup with Italia. Proving his worth year after year, Gianluigi Buffon earned himself a spot in the football hall of fame as a football legend, one of the best goalkeepers that ever lived and surely one of the best goalkeepers Juventus ever had.
However, his fairytale with Juventus came to an end in 2018, when Gianluigi Buffon left the club, packed his bags and headed to France, where he joined PSG on a free transfer. During his rather short stay with PSG, he helped his new team win Ligue 1 but failed short in Cupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Champions League. While by no means first pick goalkeeper, Buffon still managed to accumulate 25 appearances in all competitions.
However, just recently, it has been announced that Gianluigi Buffon’s contract with PSG will not be extended and that he will no longer represent Paris Saint Germain next season. On the club’s website a statement read:
“Following joint discussions, Paris Saint-Germain and Gianluigi Buffon have agreed to not renew the legendary goalkeeper’s contract which expires on 30 June 2019.”
It was revealed by Gianluigi Buffon that he was offered a new contract by PSG, which he turned down. In his own words, he stated:
“PSG proposed a contract renewal that I did not feel like accepting, driven by the desire to prepare myself for new experiences and new professional challenges”
Following his announcement of leaving PSG, Buffon shook the world with a surprise return to Juventus, which is a move no one expected to see, however, good relations with club’s president Andrea Agnelli helped Buffon’s return back home. As it was reported, the Italian legend will sign a one-year contract for Juventus where he will play as a back-up to Wojciech Szczesny who has been just phenomenal this season, securing his place as the best goalkeeper in Serie A. The move has not been made official yet, however, there is no denying it will happen. As it stands now, we are only waiting for the official announcement, which will happen in the upcoming days, soon after Juventus decide on the future of their backup goalkeeper Mattia Perin, who already received offers from Roma and Sevilla.
Seeing how Buffon is nearing 42 years, we can’t help but wonder how much does he have left in him to perform on the highest level. While he did state he feels confident in his capabilities, we do believe Buffon will most likely try himself out in management once his 1-year contract expires.
