Italian soccer legend Gianluigi Buffon has officially retired from professional soccer at the age of 45 years old. The iconic goalkeeper, one of the most influential players in the history of the game, has decided to retire despite the interest from multiple Saudi clubs and his current contract with Parma expiring in the summer 2024. 'Gigi' explained his decision through his social media channels on Wednesday: "That's all folks! You gave me everything. I gave you everything. We did it together."
Buffon started his career at Parma, where he became one of the most promising talents of Italian soccer and won one Coppa Italia, one Supercup and one UEFA Cup. In 2001 he moved to Juventus for a record fee of €53 million, becoming the highest paid player in the history of the Italian giants until Juventus signed Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in the summer 2016 for €90 million.
With Juventus, Buffon became a legend of the sport and won ten Serie A titles, five Coppa Italia, six Supercups and one Serie B title. Buffon, in fact, decided to stay at Juventus despite the Calciopoli scandal that involved the Italian club in the summer 2006. The goalkeeper, among few others such as Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved, didn't leave the club after one of the most controversial scandals in the history of the game.
In 2018, Buffon moved to Paris Saint Germain where he played for one season, winning both Ligue 1 and the French Supercup. However, only one year after, the Italian soccer icon decided to go back to Juventus where he played two more years. In 2021 he joined Parma, the club where his career started, and where it now ends.
Among the incredible number of records he set during his career, Buffon is currently the player with most games played in Serie A (657), the player with most games played with his clubs (975) and nobody won more Serie A titles than him (10). He also came in second at the 2006 Balon d'Or, the same year when he won the World Cup with Italy. Buffon is considered one of the best goalkeepers of all time. He played 176 matches with the Italian National Team, setting a new record of the player with most games played with the Azzurri until now.
