Gianluigi Buffon Announces Retirement from Football
30 May 2014
Gianluigi Buffon has announced his retirement from football with immediate effect after a serious injury to the Italian goalkeeper. Buffon has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and was told by club doctors that it would be an extremely wise choice to retire from football altogether. With the goalkeeper having such a glittering career it has been widely expected that the Juventus captain will carry on in football after recovering from his injury, but Buffon himself is yet to release a statement regarding furthering his career, at the moment this is just speculation.
Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti have all given their support to Gianluigi Buffon after the terrible news, stating that he is the best player that they have ever played with, and without a doubt the best goalkeeper to grace the earth. The Italian goalkeeper has apparently been distraught since hearing the news, but has appreciated the fans comments, and the comments from his team-mates over the years.
“Thank you so much to everyone, I cannot explain how horrible this situation is, I believed that this was going to be my last year at the top level, I wanted one last year at the top, and give the fans a proper farewell, but I cannot even kick a football for the foreseeable future so there is no way I can continue. At the age of 36, I was advised to hang-up my boots by the club doctors as it is best for my future. I have had a fantastic career and I am hoping to contribute to football even after my retirement.”
“So it is with greatest regret, I am announcing my retirement from football, thank you to all who have supported me over the years, I am going to take a few months out and think about what I want for my future. But you can guarantee you have not seen the last of me. I have got to say thank you to Juventus, Parma and everyone who has been involved in Italian football, Thank you all.”
Gianluigi Buffon has now officially retired from football, playing an incredible 488 games for Juventus in all competitions since joining for a world record fee of £33million for a goalkeeper from Parma in the summer of 2001. The Italian goalkeeper managed 488 games for Juventus, 225 games for Parma and an amazing 142 games for the Italian national side, which amounted to an amazing 855 professional football games.