Parma have officially announced the return of legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to the club, 20 years after leaving for Juventus. The newly relegated club announced the return of the player in a retro-themed, Superman Returns inspired video.
Buffon rejoins Parma as a free agent after leaving Juventus following the expiry of his contract. This is the second time that the player has left Juventus, previously walking away to join Paris Saint-Germain in France. But, despite making 25 appearances and winning a Ligue 1 trophy with them, he decided to return to Turin.
During his initial spell at Parma, he won three trophies and featured for them over 200 times before becoming the most expensive goalkeeper in the world at the time with his £32 million move to Juventus. He went on to establish himself as the best in the world, winning the 2006 World Cup with Italy at the peak of his career.
The Italian is now set to take up a new, but familiar challenge with Parma in Serie B in an attempt to bring them back up to the top flight. Parma have a very interesting project in place at the club, and are favourites to go right back up to Serie A.
Buffon is set to be the first choice goalkeeper, despite being 43 years old. The former Italy international has reportedly signed a two-year contract with his first professional club once again. This will see him play professional football at the age of 45, which is an unbelievable fact given the level of competition.
