Italy puzzles: will Gigi Buffon (45) continue or will he say ‘stop’?

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Gianluigi Buffon is now 45 years old. For 29 years he has been doing what he wants and what he loves: playing football. Last season he struck 19 times for his youth club Parma, missing out on promotion to Serie A in the play-offs. Now it seems as if the tireless has actually become football tired. His contract is still running for one year. But there was no trace of him at the start of practice over the weekend in front of some 300 fans.

Just like Simon Sohm (22), who is still on holiday after the U21 European Championship, Buffon is not even in the selection for the start of training. Instead, the goalkeeping legend is still in Sardinia today. It is said that he asked for a few more days off to think about his future.

The Italian newspapers now assume that Buffon will actually end his legendary career this summer. As a sign of this, they say that a few days ago he would have rejected a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia with an annual salary of 30 million euros.

Already a legend

“There is the impression that Buffon will stay away from football for a few months to see what role he can still play in this industry,” writes the “Gazzetta dello Sport”. No one expects him to be gone for long. His love for this sport, which he has shaped like no other, is too great. Apart from the Champions League, he has actually won everything there is to win with Juventus and PSG. Including the 2006 world title with Italy, which celebrated its anniversary on Sunday.

As much as Buffon loves football, he is loved by tifosi all over the world. The images of his saves and how fervently he sang Italy’s national anthem are forever etched in the minds of football fans. It doesn’t matter how he decides in the coming hours and days. He has long been a legend.

Source : Blick