Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Gianluigi Buffon's new Juventus contract 'a formality'

Gianluigi Buffon is on the verge of committing himself to Juventus beyond the end of the season, general manager Beppe Marotta and the player's agent, Silvano Martina, have said.

Buffon, 36, who joined Juve from Parma in 2001, will be out of contract next summer.

However, Marotta said the Serie A champions should have no problem in agreeing on an extension with the Italy captain.

"It's just a formality," he said at an awards ceremony in Cernobbio, adding that talks with the representatives of Stephan Lichtsteiner about extending his stay at the club were also under way.

Martina said he was confident that his client would commit himself to Juve and expected that the goalkeeper would play on for some time yet.

"His primary objective now is to play in a sixth World Cup, and he really could do it considering the condition he is in," Martina told Sportitalia.

"It's only a formality that he will sign a new contract. The club are building their projects around him.

"All it will take is a shake of hands between him and the president [Andrea Agnelli]. There is not going to be a repeat of what happened with [Alessandro] Del Piero. Juve have an infinite amount of respect for Gigi, who stayed with them even in Serie B.

"He turned down some lucrative offers to stay with Juve, and he is still to this day the best goalkeeper in the world. He would have deserved to win the Ballon d'Or, and it's disappointing that he never got to win it."

Buffon has been first choice for club and country for more than 15 years, having made his international debut against Russia in October 1997.

The Italy shirt he wore in that game was in danger of being ruined when heavy flooding in his home town of Carrara damaged his mother Maria Stella Masocco's home, but she was able to salvage it.

"Gigi would do anything to be here with me now to help us clear away all the mud," Masocco told ANSA.

Buffon is preparing to win his 144th cap for the Azzurri, who take on Croatia in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Sunday before facing Albania in a friendly on Nov. 18.

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