Juve icon Gianluigi Buffon wants to play until the age of FORTY FIVE

Juventus veteran Gianluigi Buffon insists he wants to play until he is FORTY FIVE despite his contract running out at the end of the season as goalkeeper aims to prolong his career at football’s highest level

  • Gianluigi Buffon, 43, insists he still has plenty left in the tank to keep playing
  • The Juventus goalkeeper wants to continue playing until he’s 45 in June 2023
  • His contract with the Turin club expires in the summer and is yet to renew terms
  • However, the veteran keeper believes he still has two years left at the top level 

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has revealed that he plans to retire by June 2023 at the latest but won’t rule out hanging up his boots sooner.

The 43-year-old’s contract with the Turin club expires at the end of the season and a renewal is yet to be agreed with the Italian champions.

However, despite his future being up in the air with Juventus, Buffon insists he still have plenty more to give and will call it quits in two years time. 

Juventus icon Gianluigi Buffon, 43, insists he still wants to play football for another two years

‘Look, in my head, there truly is a final stop sign, a maximum bar, which is June 2023,’ Buffon said in an interview with The Guardian.

‘That is the maximum, really, really the maximum. But I could also stop playing in four months.’

Last season, Buffon broke Paolo Maldini’s record for most Serie A appearances when he featured for the 648th time in a 4-1 victory over Torino.

Since then, Buffon has featured six more times in Italy’s top flight, making five appearances in the Serie A for Andrea Pirlo’s side.

In January, Buffon revealed he is looking to break stereotypes about being a veteran at the highest level having reached his 43rd birthday at the start of this year.

His contract with Juventus expires at the end of the season and a renewal is yet to be agreed

While he may be playing second fiddle to Wojciech Szczesny this season, Buffon still carries great influence and respect among the Italian champions. 

He revealed he is taking things one day at a time and is relaxed about what the future holds. 

‘I’m pretty relaxed, the course of time is inevitable. You have to accept it, go forward with great enthusiasm,’ the goalkeeper told RAI Sport via Football Italia in January. 

Buffon, a 2006 World Cup champion with Italy and 10-time Serie A winner with Juventus, previously said in 2017 that he would retire in 2018, but he instead moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain for a year before returning to Juve.

He continues to deputise for Szczesny at Juve this season, making 10 appearances in all competitions.




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