45-year old Italian legend Buffon set to retire after stellar 28-year career

Italian football legend Gianluigi Buffon has finally decided to call time on his 28-year career as he approaches his 46th birthday.

Buffon, who is currently on the books of Serie B side Parma, is set to announce his retirement soon despite having one season left on his contract with I Crociati. 

The Juventus legend suffered an injury-laden 2022/23 spell with Parma as they narrowly missed promotion to Serie A losing a promotion play-off to Cagliari where Buffon suffered an injury after 45 minutes of the first leg with I Crociati 2-0 up only to watch them lose 3-2. 

The former PSG goalkeeper is also reported to have turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia in a bid to end his playing career. 

The 45-year-old goalkeeper returned to his boyhood club in 2021, 20 years after leaving them for Serie A giants Juventus where he enjoyed a glittering career. 

Upon his return to Parma, he became the first goalkeeper in recorded history to keep 500 clean sheets, adding to the long list of individual milestones set during his storied career. 

Buffon’s time at Juventus saw him become the only player to win 10 Serie A titles and only the second player in Coppa Italia history to win the competition six times. 

He also eclipsed AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini to become the player with the most Serie A appearances, with 657 under his belt. 

With the Italian national team, Buffon made 176 senior appearances between 1997 and 2018, winning the World Cup in in 2006.