Serie A: Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon in the middle of ‘important discussions’ over future amid reports of return to Parma

Rome: Gianluigi Buffon may have ended his near two-decade career at Juventus but retirement is the last thing on the mind of the Italian football colossus. “I’m in the middle of important discussions which will ultimately lead me abroad to play as a first team regular in the Champions League, or in Italy,” the 43-year-old said on Monday. Reports in the Italian media suggest Buffon could well end up in Serie B, back at Parma, the club where he began his decorated career aged 17 in 1995. “In any case it will be something I’m not going to regret,” Buffon told Mediaset television. At Parma he won the precursor to the Europa League, the UEFA Cup, and the Italian Cup in 1999 before joining Juventus in 2001. Since then Buffon and Juve have been inseparable aside from a season-long spell at Paris Saint-Germain in 2018-19. One of the stars of Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph with a record 176 caps for his country, he also holds the Serie A record of the number of games played — 657. He has also won 10 Serie a titles amongst his many honours, but the Champions League has eluded him, with Juve the losing finalists in 2003, 2015 and 2017.