Gianluigi Buffon has agreed a one-year deal to re-join Juventus after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, a source has told ESPN FC.
The former Italy goalkeeper left Juve for PSG last summer after winning eight Serie A titles in a row. He moved to the French capital in the hope of helping them win the Champions League.
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However, despite comfortably winning Ligue 1, it was an underwhelming campaign for the Parisians, who lost in the Coupe de France final and were knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue at the quarterfinal stage.
But the low point of the campaign for the 41-year-old came during the Champions League round-of-16 clash with Manchester United, where PSG, having won 2-0 at Old Trafford, lost 3-1 at home — with Buffon at fault for one of the goals — to crash out at the first knockout stage for the third consecutive season.
The club announced he was leaving after 12 months, having spent the season sharing the starting spot with France international Alphonse Areola and PSG are in talks with AC Milan over a move for Gianluigi Donnarumma as a replacement for Buffon.
At Juventus, Buffon is expected to arrive as back-up to Wojciech Szczesny, with Mattia Perin likely to leave.
Buffon first signed for the Bianconeri from Parma in 2001 and stayed for 17 years, winning the Serie A title on 12 occasions — though two were later taken away following the Calciopoli scandal.
In his final four seasons, he won the league and cup double in each, but lost two Champions League finals in three season from 2015-2017 as Europe’s premier competition continued to elude Buffon. He was also a losing finalist with Juve in 2003.
A source has told ESPN FC that reports Buffon will become a director at Juve once his 12-month contract expires are premature.