"More or less": Buffon sets his potential RETIREMENT date...as a joke
The historic Italian goalkeeper spoke about his future retirement, and set a potential date for it, although only joking
In football, different positions have different age boundaries. While it's rare for strikers to still be effective well past their 30th birthday, it's not unusual for centrebacks to hit their prime at around that mark. Goalkeepers, however, are the most long-lived and Gianluigi Buffon is the perfect example.
Gianluigi Buffon on his debut season, more than 26 years ago
The legendary Italian goalie is enjoying his 27th year as a professional footballer, having played across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s). It get's even more strange when you consider, for, example, that he has played with the son of a former teammate, as he shared a dressing with Lilian Thuram in Parma and Juventus between 1996 and 2006, and with his son Timothy Thuram, who he played with during his sole season at Paris Saint German in 2018-19. However, he's still not looking to retirement.
While father time has evidently taken off some of his spring off the line and some of his reflexes, he's also made up for it with experience, and in a recent interview Buffon made it clear he's not intending to retire very soon.
"[I spent] 10 years in Parma in my first life, 20 at Juve in my second life, then one to Paris, two to Juve and now I close the circle in Parma. And I'm not 100 years old! Retired at 55? More or less", told Buffon to Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla. While he may be joking, it's clear that for now Buffon, who's currently playing in Serie B with Parma, does not see retirement in the horizon.
The World Cup winner also pondered his future, stating: Will I become a coach after retirement? I have been thinking for many years about when I will stop. I've been thinking about it for ten years but then I always go on. I think I have had important experiences that allowed me to get to know the world of football."
Gianluigi Buffon is still enjoying his role with his youth side Parma
Gianluigi Buffon is the Italian National Team's record appearance maker with 176 caps, as well as Juve's second-most appareance maker with 685, only behind another Biancoreni legend, Alessandro Del Piero. An absolute legend of the game, it will be sad day when Gigi retires, but it's not coming soon.
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