TURIN, ITALY - APRIL 21: Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus during the warm up prior to the Serie A match ... [+]
Juventus’s iconic goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will leave the club at the end of the 2020/21 Serie A season, he revealed during an interview to beIN Sports.
Buffon, who holds the record for most appearances in Serie A history (657) and most league titles (10), has been with the Bianconeri for a total of 19 seasons, during which his saves and leadership skills earned him the reputation of club legend.
Buffon also left a lasting legacy at the Italy national team, for which he featured 176 times, the most among all Italian players. By conceding just two goals in seven games at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was crucial in helping the Azzurri clinch the most ambitious trophy in international soccer.
TURIN, ITALY - APRIL 07: Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus reacts during the Serie A match between ... [+]
“This year, my beautiful and long experience with Juventus will definitely come to an end,” said Buffon, who turned 43 last January and is currently the oldest soccer player in Serie A.
“I think I gave everything to Juve. I received everything, and there is nothing more that can be done. We have reached the end of a cycle and it is the right decision to leave.”
In the interview to beIN Sports, Buffon added that while it is certain that he will leave Juventus at the end of this Serie A season, he has not yet come to a decision about retirement.
He said that he will either retire or find a new team that could give him new motivations. On his Twitter account, Buffon posted that “the time to come is all to be written,” hinting at the possibility to further extend his career as a professional soccer player.
Buffon first joined Juventus from Parma in the summer of 2001, when at 23 years old, he came to Turin to replace Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
His bond with the club strengthened through the years and especially in 2006, when he stayed at Juventus despite the club being relegated to Serie B as a result of its involvement in the Calciopoli match fixing scandal.
Although major European soccer clubs expressed strong interest in the world-class goalkeeper, Buffon decided to stick with the Bianconeri during those challenging times and helped them get promoted to Serie A the following year.
Buffon’s permanence in Turin was temporarily suspended during the 2018/19 season, when he signed a one-year deal with Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain. He returned to Juventus the following year and lifted another Scudetto under manager Maurizio Sarri.
ALLIANZ STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY - 2020/08/01: Gianluigi Buffon (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus ... [+]
Two critical weeks of domestic competition await Juventus. The Bianconeri are currently fifth in the Serie A table and desperately chasing a top-4 finish that would grant them a UEFA Champions League spot for next year.
Juventus are also approaching the Coppa Italia final, the one-legged match that will see them battle Atalanta on May 19 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
While Buffon has enjoyed little playing time in Serie A this season, he has always featured as the starting goalkeeper for Juventus in Coppa Italia, which is why he is expected to be in goal against Atalanta next Wednesday.
That means that Buffon could crown his last game at Juventus with yet another piece of silverware.
