It was always bound to happen at some point, and today, Gianluigi Buffon has announced that his partnership with Juventus will come to a conclusion at the end of the current campaign. The 43-year-old shot-stopper, who is back for a second spell with the Turin giants, will be saying arrivederci to his current club where he has set numerous records, including recently becoming the second oldest player ever to appear in Serie A. He's also still the third most expensive goalkeeper of all time, as Juventus paid €52 million to purchase him from Parma back in 2001.
Buffon first signed with Juventus in 2001, and since then has won multiple Scudetti. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to help the Bianconeri successfully make it a tenth straight title on the spin, and right now the team are fighting to secure a top four spot. This season has seen him feature sparingly as he's had to play second fiddle to Wojciech Szczęsny, so he's made only seven Serie A appearances, keeping three clean sheets during that time-frame.
However, where he's largely been deployed is during the Coppa Italia, so it's likely his last game in a Bianconeri kit will be during the final. Juventus are set to take on Atalanta and fans will hope that 43-year-old Buffon will be able to steer them to glory in what's been a very frustrating campaign for the supporters and players that's seen La Vecchia Signora not only lose the Scudetto, but fail to make inroads in the Champions League as well.
It will also be quite interesting to see where Buffon will end up next, as he said earlier this year that he wasn't quite ready to hang up his gloves. The veteran did spend a year at PSG during the 2018/2019 term, so another spell abroad isn't out of the realm of possibility.
