At 43, Gianluigi Buffon is still a goalkeeper at Juventus Turin. Despite a contract that ends in June, the Italian wants to continue.
At Juventus Turin, some players were lucky enough to be able to evolve with Andrea Pirlo before the latter took the reins of the Old Lady last summer. This is particularly the case of Gianluigi Buffon, who has known everything with the former midfielder. At 43, the Turin goalkeeper therefore finds himself in the situation of being coached by a coach younger than him (41). Something to make him smile at the time of Pirlo’s summer appointment.
“Should I call you ‘Mister’ now?”, wrote the former PSG goalkeeper on social networks.
Returned to Italy after a more than mixed experience in the Parisian club, Buffon has not resumed his place of holder at Juventus. No, for the past two seasons he has now played the substitute goalkeepers behind Szczęsny and has to settle for crumbs in the Italian Cup. Despite the past quarantine and his declarations in 2017 to end his career, “Gigi” is resisting. And listening to him, he is not ready to close the book.
“Look, on my head there really is one last stop sign, a maximum bar, which is June 2023, he insisted in an interview with the Guardian. It’s the maximum, really, really the maximum. But I could also stop playing in four months. “
It must be said that the contract of the 2006 world champion runs until next June with Juventus but if the desire to play is still present at Buffon, it is difficult to see the Turin club not offering him a new lease. After more than 25 years at the top level, it is no longer money that guides the doorman’s choices. Even more since the start of the Covid-19 health crisis.
“I have learned that nothing is certain in life.”
“They say that when you reach my age, the decline happens all of a sudden – moment to moment. I don’t believe that. I feel what I’m feeling and what I’m feeling inside of me. don’t make me think there’s going to be a sudden collapse. “
“I’m also someone who strongly believes in fate. When Juventus offered me the chance to come back, I thought: ‘Madonna!’ You never know, maybe there is a reason, something that I’m supposed to go back. One last great story to write. So I have to be honest, there is also a part of my longevity that comes down to that little ego that we all have. “
The desire to finally win a Champions League after two failures in the final (2003 and 2015) also pushes him to delay the deadline. With a deadline set in 2023, the chances are less and less numerous.
“In truth, I never imagined that I would play this long, he finally confessed. But these are great stories, I think.”
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