The "old goalkeeper" extends his contract with Parma until 2024
Giant goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has extended his contract with Parma from Serie B until June 2024. With
a one-year contract extension, Buffon will continue his football career beyond his 46th birthday.
"Gigi is a great player and one of the three best goalkeepers in Italy, and the renewal of his contract makes us very happy," said Parma president Kyle Krause.
"His passion and dedication to Parma and the city is evident every time he sees him," he added.
The Italian goalkeeper legend returned to Parma from Juventus last summer, for the first time after two decades of leaving the club, where he began his professional career.
The 44-year-old has 176 caps for his country and also holds the record for Serie A matches with 657 appearances, starting with his debut for Parma in 1995 when he was 17 years old.
He won 27 titles in his career so far, including the 2006 World Cup and the 1999 European Cup with Parma when he was a member of the best team in the club's history.
Parma was among the best Italian clubs in the 1990s under the ownership of the dairy company Parmalat, winning three major European titles.
After Parmalat went bankrupt in 2003 following a massive financial fraud scandal, the club were relegated to the fourth tier in 2015. They climbed three ranks in three consecutive years to return to the First Division in 2018, but were relegated after finishing last season.
The majority of Buffon's titles over his 19 seasons came with Juventus, with 10 Serie A titles, five domestic cups and the Serie B champion in 2007.
He also won the French League title with Paris Saint-Germain in the 2018-2019 season before returning to the Turin giants, but he never won the Champions League, losing the final with Juventus in 2003, 2015 and 2017.
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