OFFICIAL: Gianluigi Buffon joins PSG after a 17-year spell at Juventus

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Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon has signed an one-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain after a 17-year speal in Turin, with an option to extend it for one more year.

“It is with a great feeling of happiness that I join Paris Saint-Germain,” says Buffon after signing his contract. “For the first time in my career, I leave my country and only such an ambitious project could lead me to make such a decision.”

“I thank the Club and the President for their trust. For having followed its incredible progress in recent years, I know the dreams that inhabit PSG and all those who wear it in their heart.”

“I will bring all my energy, experience and thirst for success to help my new club achieve the very big goals they have set for themselves.”

Buffon is already 40 years old and will be 41 in January 2019, but his performances this season convinced him to keep playing, albeit no longer at Juventus.

With Old Ladies, Buffon has won a record 10 Serie A titles as well as 5 Coppa Italia titles. He helped Parma win the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup and the Supercoppa Italiana, in 1999.

After joining Juventus in 2001 for the world record fee for a goalkeeper at €52 million, Buffon won Serie A titles in both of his first two seasons at the club, and established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position. Two more consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006, were later stripped due to Juventus involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal.

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With 176 international caps, Buffon is the most capped player in the history of the Italy national team, the fourth-most capped footballer of all time, and the most capped European international player ever.

Buffon also holds the record most appearances for Italy as captain after he inherited the armband following the departure of Fabio Cannavaro in 2010. Buffon has been called up for a record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) since making his debut in 1997; he was an unused substitute in the 1998 edition.

He was the starting goalkeeper of the squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He has also represented Italy at four European Championships, at the 1996 Olympics, and at two FIFA Confederations Cups, winning a bronze medal in the 2013 edition of the tournament. He retired from international football in 2017, after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, although he later came out of retirement for the teams friendlies the following year.

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