Buffon retires

Italian media reported that Buffon will meet with representatives of Parma club in the next few days to terminate his contract one year ahead of time. The 45-year-old goalkeeper will make an official announcement in the next few days, ending 28 years as a professional player. After that, he is expected to lead the Italian team, replacing Gianluca Vialli.

Buffon suffers from injury and age problems, which left him playing only 17 games for Parma in Serie B last season. His last match was on May 31, 2023, in 45 minutes of the first half Parma lost to Cagliari 2-3 in Serie B. Buffon kept a clean sheet of that match, as all three of Parma's goals came in the second half.

Buffon grew up at Parma himself, and played for the first team from 1995-2001. In the summer of 2001, he became the most expensive goalkeeper when he moved to Juventus for a transfer fee of $ 61 million, and that record was kept until 2018, before being broken by Alisson.

Buffon's peak came in the Juventus shirt, where he set a record of 10 scudetto wins. He was also selected as the best goalkeeper of the 2006 World Cup, helping Italy to win the championship. Near the end of his career, Buffon went to PSG to play for a season, then returned to Juventus and set a record for the number of Serie A matches (694 matches). He returned to Parma in the summer of 2021, playing in Serie B since then.

Buffon has never won the Champions League, although he reached the final with Juventus three times in 2003, 2015 and 2017. He won the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999, runner-up at Euro 2012. Buffon was selected by IFFHS as the best goalkeeper of the 2001 period. -2020, and 1987-2012. At all times, he is only behind Lev Yashin - the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or.