Juventus and Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon is planning to hang up boots at aged 45, it has been reported.
The legendary goalkeeper who’s represented Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Parma and the Italian national team, is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all time.
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reports that the player will terminate his contract a year early in the coming days before officially announcing his farewell.
Buffon won the 2006 World Cup with Italy and has the most senior caps for the Azzurri with 176, along with the most appearances as captain with 80.
Only six players have featured in five editions of the World Cup, namely Buffon, Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Marquez, Lothar Matthaus, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Buffon represented the Azzurri in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.
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The shot-stopper has amassed 657 Serie A appearances, more than any other player in the history of the competition.
He still holds the record by going unbeaten for 974 minutes of football in Serie A and 10 consecutive clean sheets.
In the era of three points for a win, Buffon maintained 285 clean sheets in Serie A.
He became the oldest goalkeeper to save a penalty in Serie A, aged 43 years, three months and 14 days.
At club level, Buffon has the record of most league appearances in the Juventus jersey with 526, which included the 2006-07 campaign in Serie B, when he followed them despite demotion in the Calciopoli scandal.
The record also stands for most Serie A appearances for Juventus on 489 and in the Champions League on 117.
He played a total of 61,411 minutes of football for the Bianconeri in all competition, also a record.
Buffon won the Supercoppa Italiana a record seven times and the Coppa Italia six times, which he shares as a player with Roberto Mancini.
Buffon’s professional career began with Parma in 1995, where he made his Serie A debut.
