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Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to Leave PSG When Contract Expires
June 5, 2019
Paris Saint-Germain confirmed on Wednesday goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will be leaving this summer, as the player and club failed to reach an agreement over a new deal.
The Italian veteran joined the French side ahead of the 2018-19 season, having ended a 17-year stint with Serie A giants Juventus. The Ligue 1 champions confirmed Buffon's adventure in Paris will end after just one season though:
Buffon offered his own thoughts on the departure, per BBC Sport:
"I leave happy to have enjoyed this experience which has undoubtedly helped me to grow. Today my adventure outside Italy comes to an end.
"Ernest Hemingway wrote that there are only two places in the world where people can live happily: at home and in Paris. Today onwards, this will also apply to me: Paris, in some way, will always remain my home... Allez Paris!"
Per Football Italia, Buffon also said, "PSG proposed a contract renewal that I did not feel ready to accept, pushed by my desire to prepare for new personal experiences and new professional challenges."
Buffon made 25 appearances for PSG and while the team once again failed to excel in the UEFA Champions League—they were knocked out in the last 16 by Manchester United in dramatic circumstances—he won the Ligue 1 title with the capital club.
While the 41-year-old is rated as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, there were some small signs late in the season that his standards are beginning to slip. In the final Ligue 1 game of the campaign, he was especially sloppy in a 3-1 loss to Stade Reims.
European football journalist Andy Brassell said he thinks Thomas Tuchel's rotation of Buffon and Alphonse Areola didn't help either player:
Still, as these figures illustrate, when it came to shot-stopping the Italian was one of the best in French football last season:
It will be intriguing to see what comes next for Buffon. Although he is not the force of nature he once was between the sticks, he's still operating at a standard few goalkeepers can match.
Additionally, given the success he has enjoyed with PSG, Juventus—where he won nine Serie A titles—and the Italian national team, he can bring a massive amount of experience to a dressing room.
Football journalist Yousef Teclad said he'd like to see Buffon return to his former club Parma, who were promoted back to the Italian top flight last season:
When Buffon joined PSG he was moving to a club who shared the same desire as him, as neither have won the Champions League. There's no doubt he'll be disappointed at leaving France without achieving that ambition.
At this point in his career, it appears as though that honour will elude the veteran. When he does hang up the gloves it'll be a sad day, but for the time being, there doesn't appear to be any indication he's ready to walk away from the game for good.