The legend continues
Paris Saint-Germain’s first summer signing, Gianluigi Buffon, has swapped his bianconero uniform for Rouge et Bleu. A marriage made in heaven, between Paris, the City of Light, and the legendary goalkeeper.
It’s hard to sum up the career of Gigi Buffon, one who has written his name into the history books of goalkeepers and football itself, in just a few words. His incredible list of honours speaks for itself: nine Serie A scudetti, more than any other player, five Coppa d’Italia, one UEFA Cup with Parma and of course, the World Cup with Gli Azzurri in 2006.
But above and beyond the trophies he has won throughout his exceptional career, Buffon has always inspired respect, from his peers, supporters and observers of the game alike. A respect he has earned with his extraordinary performances on the pitch and his exemplary behaviour off it.
A veritable legend, Buffon joins Paris after 640 Serie A matches, including 638 starts. Over the past seven seasons, the Italian ‘keeper leads the way with 117 clean sheets. He has also played 176 matches with the Squadra Azzurra, more than any other player from one of Europe’s top five footballing nations, and worn the captain’s armband 80 times – more than any other Italian in history.
There is just one trophy missing from his cabinet: Gigi has never won the Champions League, despite reaching three finals with Juventus in 2003, 2015 and 2017. Last season, Buffon moved beyond 10,000 minutes played in Europe’s most prestigious club competition (only four other players have played more) without ever having lifted the Holy Grail. Paris Saint-Germain’s ambitions marry perfectly with those of the Italian, who doubtless plans on one last exploit in his immense career and cement his name, and that of Paris Saint-Germain, once and forever in the pantheon of football.