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Buffon to leave Juventus

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Buffon to leave Juventus

Jonathan Duane
Jonathan Duane

11:56 17 May 2018


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The legendary goalkeeper will leave Turin this summer but he has not ruled out continuing his playing career elsewhere after a series of offers have come in for the veteran.

Saturday's Serie A home clash with Verona will be his last for the Italian giants having helped them win the Scudetto and Coppa Italia this season. It was expected that he would also announce that he is retiring from the game despite some reports linking him with Boca Juniors.

But Buffon has revealed he has a series of offers that he is now weighing up, suggesting he may look to continue his playing career elsewhere.

"Over the next three days, full of emotion, I will, after two or three days of reflection, make a definitive decision," he said. "I'll try to follow whatever calls to my soul and my nature.

He did, however, exclude for playing for another Italian club, even resurgent Parma, who may play top-flight football next term after bankruptcy in 2015.

"A return to Parma is a romantic childhood dream, but nothing more than that," he said.

Over a career spanning 23 years, the shot-stopper has so far turned out for just two clubs, starting at Parma before Juventus signed him for €52 million (£32.6m/$44m) in 2001, making him the most expensive goalkeeper ever - a title that he holds to this day.

The 40-year-old is regarded as an iconic figure of the world game, having won nine Serie A titles and the 1998-99 UEFA Cup among other prizes. However, his greatest achievement came in 2006, when he helped Italy win the World Cup.

On a personal level, he set numerous landmarks, even in the latter stages of his career. For example, in 2015-16, he set a new mark for the long consecutive period during a single Serie A season without conceding a goal at 974 minutes.

Enjoy some of the best of Buffon here.


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