Italy legend Buffon reveals his regret at leaving mega-money at PSG
‘It was the biggest mistake of my life… I gave up £8.8MILLION’: Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon reveals his regret at leaving mega-money at PSG in a spat over selection – and why losing to Man United was worst moment of his career
- Gianluigi Buffon spent one season at Paris Saint-Germain in 2018-19
- But the Italian left the club following a disagreement over playing time
- The 45-year-old revealed the pain over Champions League exit to Man United
Gianluigi Buffon has revealed how leaving Paris Saint-Germain in the autumn of his career was the ‘biggest mistake’ of his life.
The legendary Italian goalkeeper played in the French capital for just one season after leaving Juventus at the age of 40 – only to then return to Turin a year later.
However, Buffon has revealed that he loved playing in France and that only a regretful spat over team selection forced him to move back to the Italian club where he had previously played 656 games having joined from Parma for £32.6m in 2001 in a then world record fee for a goalkeeper.
‘Leaving was the biggest mistake of my life, I gave up €10million (£8.8m)’, he told former Italy team-mate Christian Vieri on the ex-striker’s Twitch stream.
‘They told me that [Alphonse] Areola would play in the Champions League and I didn’t accept it. For me, the one who deserves it plays. That’s why I returned to Juve.
Gianluigi Buffon has revealed leaving Paris Saint-Germain was the biggest regret of his life
Buffon played alongside top stars in the French capital including striker Neymar (centre)
Buffon though admits he was unhappy having to play reserve to Alphonse Areola (left) in the Champions League and it forced him to leave the club after just one season
‘Then I regretted it , because Areola was injured and they signed Keylor Navas in his place!’
‘[Paris] was the most beautiful experience of my life. I felt like a free man. I quickly learned French, talked to people on the street, visited museums… I had the feeling of playing in a great team.’
Buffon lined up alongside the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria, Edinson Cavani and Dani Alves while at PSG and was convinced the team was one of the strongest he played in.
In fact the Italian World Cup winner reveals that his Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Manchester United was the biggest regret of his career.
PSG were in a strong position to advance from the group having won the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford, only to then lose the second leg at the Parc des Prince 3-1, with Marcus Rashford scoring a crucial stoppage time penalty to see the visitors advance on away goals.
‘I was convinced, we were superior,’ Buffon reflected.
His biggest career regret also came at PSG when his side were dumped out of the last-16 of the 2019 Champions League by Manchester United. Pictured, Romelu Lukaku scores past Buffon
Buffon was convinced his PSG side were strong enough to win Europe’s top prize that season
After leaving PSG, Buffon returned to his former club Juventus for another two years
The keeper though returned to his first club Parma in 2021 and plans to end his career there
‘We went to Manchester to play the first leg of the round of 16 with United and we dominated, but they eliminated us in the second leg. That was the biggest disappointment of my career.’
Buffon’s career has come full circle after leaving Juventus in the summer of 2021, rejoining Parma in Serie B where he still regularly plays despite being 45-years-old.
However, the former Italy stopper who retired from international duty in 2018 after winning an incredible 176 caps has revealed that he will end his career at the Italian second tier side when his contract expires in over a year’s time.
‘I would like to retire after next season, no more. I am competitive and I don’t want to be considered a back-up keeper,’ he concluded.
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