Buffon to stay at Juve

Italy goalkeeper pledges future to club

Last updated: 14th May 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Buffon to stay at Juve

Buffon: Loyal to Juve

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Gianluigi Buffon has confirmed that he will still be a Juventus player at the start of next season.

The Italy goalkeeper has been linked with a move away from the club after a dressing room bust-up during Juve's 2-2 draw with Lecce, with AC Milan and Manchester City rumoured to be interested in signing him.

But after talks with top executives, the 31-year-old has pledged his future to the club with a view to long-term success.

"Now I confirm it officially, I will not leave Turin next season and will continue to be the Juventus goalkeeper," Buffon told his official website.

"In the last few days I have had two chats to clear things up with (part owner) John Elkann and (chief executive) Jean Claude Blanc. I was not scared that we wouldn't win things next season, but that we wouldn't be able to in three or four.

"From this point of view they made me feel better and I'm now a lot happier."

Done Deal

Buffon is sure to welcome the news that Juventus are now almost certain to sign Brazil international Diego from German side Werder Bremen.

The club's president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli revealed that the deal should be completed as soon as the transfer window reopens in the summer.

"Diego is a great player and his arrival will probably mean a change of team tactics. Ranieri is already thinking about this so the deal is more than a probability, it is almost certain," he said.

"We hope to complete the deal at the beginning of June, but we only have the formalities left."

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