Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon officially became a new player for Juventus on Thursday, signing a one-year contract after playing last year at PSG.
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"After a year away from Turin, Gianluigi Buffon returns to Juventus, signing an agreement until June 30, 2020," the Turin club said in an official statement.
Buffon, 41, arrived at the J Medical, the clinic owned by Juventus, and then went to the club's headquarters to sign his contract alongside vice-president Pavel Nedved.
The experienced Italian goalkeeper had already played for 18 years at Juventus, from 2001 to 2018, winning nine league titles, five Italian Cups, and six Italian Super Cups.
He returns to Juventus after a season in Ligue 1, in which he played 24 games and won the league title and the French Super Cup.
He will compete with Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for a starting position in Maurizio Sarri's team and will make another attempt at the Champions League, the only title he is missing at club level.
After sealing his return to Juventus, Buffon announced that he will change his usual number 1, which now belongs to Szczesny, and will wear number 77, as he did at Parma.
"I want to thank Szczesny and (Giorgio) Chiellini, who proposed me the number 1 and the captain's armband. I'm not here to take anything away from anyone. I'm here to contribute, as I always did in my career," Buffon said, who participated in a Juventus event in Milan.
🔊 Sound 🔛 @gianluigibuffon #WelcomeBackGigi #JUVEINMILAN #LiveAhead pic.twitter.com/v8KdVxvrsX
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) July 4, 2019
"For me, the starting goalkeeper of Juventus should wear number 1 and Szczesny will have number 1. And I will be proud that someone like 'Chiello', who is also the captain of the Italian national team, is the captain," he continued.
Thus, his number will be 77, the number he already wore in his last season at Parma (2000-2001), before joining Juventus.
"I thought about 77, because it represents a bit of my history, that of Parma. It brought me good luck, that year I went to Juventus and had an amazing season. I like it, it's something that has excited me and that I have liked," he concluded.
Source: EFE