The legendary shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon did not leave any stone unturned when speaking about his lengthy career, which included playing for Juventus, Parma, and PSG.
The 2006 World Cup champion referred to each and everyone of these teams in a candid discussion at BoboTV, the Twitch channel where Christian Vieri and Antonio Cassano have interviewed some of their former teammates. Needless to say, the Italian goalie shared a few gems about his career.
The first topic to come up was his decision to join Juventus, where Buffon became a global icon and cemented his reputation as one of the best goalies in the globe. In that portion of the interview, Buffon admitted he came close to never joining the bianconeri due to an offer by Barcelona.
"Juve made me reach my highest level. It was the best decision in my career, and I have to thank my agent and my father for taking it. Roma and Barcelona were after me and I came really close to take a plane to Spain, but my father told me that Juve was the way to go, because they hadn't won a Scudetto in many years and they were up to winning it again, and so it was," Buffon recalled.
Then, the former Italy international referred to his time at PSG, where he revealed that a tantrum was behind what he labeled as the worst decision he ever made.
"Leaving PSG was the worst mistake of my life. I gave up ten million. They told me that Areola was going to play Champions League games and I didn't like that. In sports, for me, the one that deserves to play gets that chance. Why should I be a second-tier goalie in France? If that was the case, I'd be a second-team goalie in Italy, and that's why I returned to Juventus. Weeks later I regretted that move, because Areola picked up an injury and they signed Keylor in his place," Buffon added.
Buffon went on to reveal what made his stay with Les Parisiens so special.
"It was the greatest experience in my career. I felt like a free man. I learned to speak French right away, I spoke with people on the street, I got to visit museums. To top it all, I had the feeling I belonged to a really talented team," Buffon stated.
Then, when the conversation came around to speak about Parma, the issue of his retirement came to light.
"I would like to say goodbye after the next season, I'm done. I am a competitive guy, I don't want to be considered as a replacement goalkeeper. I will always go to the pitch to improve myself," Buffon concluded.
With eight games left in the Serie B season, Buffon and Parma are ranked ninth, one point away from the preliminary promotion stage. Buffon returned to his boyhood club to get them back to Serie A, but as things stand, he may need one more year to see that happening.
