“I wanted to quit” – How a phone call postponed Gianluigi Buffon’s retirement
In 2018, Gianluigi Buffon actually wanted to end his career early. A phone call ensured that his plans changed at short notice.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been playing for his youth club Parma Calcio since last summer. As the 43-year-old now revealed in an interview, he wanted to end his active career at Juventus in 2018.
“In February I decided to quit because I was thinking of the World Cup and wanted to close the circle with it,” revealed Buffon on the Italian TV show “Tiki Taka” by Italia 1. But just before the 2006 world champion was able to hang up his football boots, a call rang in between.
“It would be a shame to miss this opportunity” – When Buffon canceled his retirement for PSG
Buffon said: “I told my agent I wanted to quit unless Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG calls me. After 20 days I got the call from Paris and I thought it would be a shame to have this chance to miss.”
With PSG, the goalkeeper defeated Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League last 16, while Juventus lost to Atletico. “I was happy for myself, but I didn’t feel comfortable because Juventus lost and that affected my decisions,” recalls Buffon.
The dream of the Champions League: That’s why Buffon returned to Juventus
After only one season in Paris, he returned to Turin, where he had already been under contract from 2001 to 2018. He didn’t like the role of second goalkeeper, “but I accepted it because it would have been great to win the Champions League with this group of players and managers,” said Buffon in retrospect: “To win you with Juve , would have given me great satisfaction. “
The second tenure of the ten-time Italian champions lasted two years before he returned to Parma in the summer on a free transfer. In the current season Buffon was captain in all 17 league games for the Gialloblu on the field and held four times the zero.