After a remarkable 17-years in Turin, Gianluigi Buffon has played his last game for Juventus as he bid farewell during their Seria A clash with Verona.
It was a hugely emotional occasion for Buffon and his family, as the 40-year-old embraced his team-mates, waved to the crowd and headed for the sideline just after the hour mark.
Buffon's eldest kid, Louis-Thomas, watches his father come off in tears pic.twitter.com/Nrq6ZcXssY
— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) May 19, 2018
Gigi Buffon flavouring the emotions a moment after having received the ovation from Juventus Stadium, leaving Juve pitch for the very last time pic.twitter.com/kPxDgch1Dp
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) May 19, 2018
Buffon substituted off for the last time.#Buffon #Juventus pic.twitter.com/MElprOHKZC
— Footy Analyst (@analyst_footy) May 19, 2018
Buffon had confirmed he would leave the club today in a press conference earlier this week, but said he had options both on and off the field to mull over.
Saturday will be my last match with Juventus and I do believe it will be the most beautiful thing to end my adventure this way. What will I do next? For now I only know that I will play a game on Saturday. Until a few days ago it was certain that I would stop playing. Interesting proposals have now arrived.
Buffon joined Juventus from Parma in July 2001 and enjoyed an iconic career with immense highs and lows. He collected nine Seria A titles while also having two stripped. He is also set to play his last game for Italy in a friendly next month, retiring from international duty as their most capped player.
