Gianluigi Buffon: Italy legend announces his retirement in an emotional way

Former Juventus goalkeeper and World Cup winner, Gianluigi Buffon has announced his retirement from the game at the age of 45.

The Italian legend made the official announcement via his official social media accounts on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. He thanked the fans for the support they has been showed to him in the past 28 years.

"That's all folks. You gave me everything. I gave you everything. We did it together."

Gianluigi Buffon ended his football career from where it all started for him with Parma in 1995. He won 29 trophies which includes the FIFA World Cup in 2006 along with 10 Serie A titles with Juventus and Ligue 1 with Paris St-Germain.

The 45-year-old began his career at Parma's academy and made his Serie A debut for the club in November 1995 before joining Juventus in 2001 in a £32.6m deal - a world record for a goalkeeper at the time.

He spent most of his career with Juventus before leaving to join PSG during the 2018/19 season. He made a record 657 appearances in the Italian top flight and is the most-capped goalkeeper of all time with 176 appearances for Italy.

Buffon retired from international football in 2018 after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup that year.