Gianluigi Buffon: Italian and Juventus legend retires from professional football aged 45

Gianluigi Buffon has officially announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 45.

After an illustrious 28-year career, including two successful seasons at his childhood club Parma in Serie B, Buffon decided to terminate his contract with Parma, which was originally set to run until June 2024, and confirmed his retirement.

In a heartfelt video posted on his Twitter account, Buffon expressed his gratitude and love for the sport.

The tweet said: "That's all folks! You gave me everything. I gave you everything. We did it together."

Buffon's club career is best defined by his two decades at Juventus where he won an impressive 10 Serie A titles in 19 seasons, along with five Coppa Italia and six Italian Supercoppa titles. He also reached three Champions League finals with Juve but fell short of ever claiming the prestigious trophy.

The goalkeeper's career started at Parma, where he made his professional debut at the age of 17 in 1995. In 2001, he made a record-breaking transfer to Juventus for €52 million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper at the time.

On the international stage, Buffon proudly represented Italy with a record-breaking 176 international appearances. His Azzurri journey began in 1997, and he played in nine major tournaments from 1998 to 2016. Buffon's exceptional goalkeeping skills were crucial in Italy's triumph at the 2006 World Cup, where he kept five clean sheets in seven games. His retirement means there are no active players left from Italy's World Cup winning squad

Buffon's remarkable achievements earned him recognition, and he was named Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2006, narrowly losing to his fellow Azzurri teammate Fabio Cannavaro. He also captained the Italian side that reached the Euro 2012 final, where they were defeated by Spain.

After 20 years of dedicated service, Buffon bid farewell to international duty in 2017.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media