Gianluigi Buffon is goalkeeping! For about 16 years, if not longer, the Italian has been one of the premier goalkeepers in the world occasionally being the top dog at the keeper's union. And the legendary Juve number one revealed Premier League clubs have been trying to sign him for ages...
Buffon signed for the Old Lady back in 2001 and is still going strong as the club's number one and also the national team's too. He plans on heading to France for the Euros and Russia in 2018 for the World Cup before retiring but he revealed that clubs in England tried to end his time in Italy on three occasions.
The 38 year-old revealed that Manchester United and Arsenal tried early in his career whilst Manchester City, with new money behind them, tried to get him back in 2008:
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"I remember when I was 20 years old in 1998 I had dinner once with Arsene Wenger from Arsenal. Then when I was at Parma, Manchester United definitely had their eyes on me for a long time with Ferguson.
"Let's say that the most serious and direct approach I had was from Manchester City. They wanted to start their adventure by signing two or three more renowned players and I was one of them. That was 2007 or 2008 roughly. However, nothing came of it for various reasons."
Buffon is the most capped player for Italy ever with 154 caps and if he manages to get to the 2018 World Cup could over take the Ahmed Hassan's all time record of 184 caps which would be some achievement.
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It would have been great to have seen him in the Premier League at some point but he's been so brilliant for Juventus over the years we can hardly begrudge him not moving to England.
(h/t Squawka)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football, Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus