Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has signed a contract
extension which will keep him at the Bianconeri until June 2012.
The 29-year-old Italian World Cup winner demonstrated his loyalty
to the club last year by not joining the exodus of players
following the club's enforced relegation to Serie B.
Buffon joined Juventus from Parma in 2001 - commanding a
world-record fee for a goalkeeper of £32 million - and had been
linked with a move to AC Milan throughout the season before opting
to remain with the Turin giants. His decision to stay with the
Serie B champions comes on the back of the appointment of Claudio
Ranieri as coach, and Buffon admits the long-term ambitions of the
club played a part in his decision to stay.
"It is an important day for me, because I have written a new page
in my career and life," Buffon told the club's official website,
www.juventus.com "The decision to stay is in line with what I
decided last year which confirms my loyalty to this team, to this
company and to Juventus fans who have never failed to show their
affection for me. "The project that I have seen for Juventus is
convincing because the company has set important goals in which I
believe, and because it creates the conditions for an increasingly
stimulating relationship."
