Legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has announced he will be leaving Juventus at the end of the season after 17 years with the club.
The 40-year-old Italian, who joined the club from Parma in 2001, revealed the news at a press conference which held at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Thursday morning.
Speaking to reporters, Buffon said:
“Saturday will be my final match with Juventus.” The former Parma goalkeeper will make his 640th and final Serie A appearance for Juventus against Verona in Turin.
Buffon said he would like to take more time to reflect on his future which could be either on or off the pitch.
“What am I going to do? Saturday, I’m playing a match and it’s the only thing that’s certain,” he continued.
“Until 15 days ago, I was sure to stop playing, but I received some exciting proposals, both on and off the pitch. Off the pitch the most interesting was made to me by (Juventus) president (Andrea) Agnelli.” “Next week, after a few days of calm reflection, I will make a definite and certain decision.”
Buffon holds the record for going 974 minutes in Serie A football without conceding a goal and has kept 300 clean sheets in 655 competitive club matches.
