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Gianluigi Buffon announces he will play last game for Juventus but refuses to confirm if he is retiring or not

The Italian goalkeeper has also received an offer to move upstairs with Juventus but could choose to extend his playing career by another season

Jack de Menezes
Thursday 17 May 2018 11:08 BST
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Gianluigi Buffon has refused to confirm his retirement but said that Saturday will be his last game for Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon has refused to confirm his retirement but said that Saturday will be his last game for Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon has announced that this Saturday’s Serie A finale will be his last game for Juventus, but left his future plans in limbo after refusing to reveal if he will retire or not after receiving offers from other clubs.

In an emotional press conference on Thursday, 40-year-old Buffon and Juventus president Andrea Agnelli appeared to confirm that Saturday’s final league encounter against Verona – where Juve will lift their seventh straight Serie A title and Buffon’s ninth in total – will be the last for the legendary Italian goalkeeper in the shirt of Juventus.

But in what appears to be something of a U-turn, Buffon revealed that he has received “interesting proposals” in recent days that could lead to him continuing to play football next season.

“Saturday will be my last match with Juventus and I do believe it will be the most beautiful thing to end amazing adventure this way,” Buffon said. “What will I do next? For now I only know that I will play a game on Saturday. Until a few days ago it was certain that I would stop playing. Interesting proposals have now arrived.”

Buffon has received an offer from Juventus to move into a non-playing role by Agnelli, which he added he is genuinely considering.

"On Saturday I will play a match and this is the only thing that is certain,” he added. “Then I will have a continuous dialogue with the president and he is aware of what's going on around me. I would like to rely on his advice support and suggestions.

Buffon could choose to extend his playing career with another club

"15 days ago it was known I wanted to stop playing football but now some proposals on and off the pitch have arrived and one of them, off the pitch, came from Andrea (Agnelli).

"I will decide next week to follow my spirit."

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