Parma 1991–1994: youth career and early professional career {{Quote box|width=25%|align=right|quote="I've never seen a debut like his for the personality and quality he showed." Buffon played youth football as a midfielder with
La Spezia–based amateur club U.S.D. Canaletto Sepor, before returning to Carrara to play for Perticata, then Bonascola. Despite offers from
Bologna and
Milan, Buffon began his career with the
Parma youth system in 1991, as the team's coach was struck by his physical qualities. His idol
Thomas N'Kono inspired this change of position due to his goalkeeping for
Cameroon at the
1990 World Cup; when both of the Parma youth team's keepers suddenly suffered injuries, Buffon was called upon due to his interest, height and physical attributes. He quickly adapted to this role, and within two weeks he had been promoted to first keeper of the Parma youth team.
1996–2001: making the starting eleven, early success and recognition In the
1996–97 Serie A season, Buffon was named as the starting goalkeeper for Parma. Buffon acquired his nickname "
Superman" during the season when he stopped a penalty by
Inter striker
Ronaldo. He celebrated the save by revealing a Superman T-shirt underneath his jersey; the nickname was also a reference to Buffon's athleticism, agility and aerial ability. In his
fourth season with the club, Buffon won his first European trophy, the
UEFA Cup. He also won the
Coppa Italia with Parma that season. Buffon's performances that season earned him his first
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award and the
Bravo Award. and received his first Ballon d'Or nomination. In the
following season, he won his first
Supercoppa Italiana title against Serie A champions Milan, and Parma finished fourth in Serie A once again, tied with Inter for the final remaining
Champions League spot. Parma lost 3–1 to Inter in the European playoff match. Buffon helped lead Parma to another
Coppa Italia final in the
2000–01 season, but were defeated by Fiorentina. Parma also finished the season in fourth place for the third consecutive year, which allowed them to go through to the
Champions League play-off round. For the
2000–01 season, Buffon's initial decision to change from his traditional number 1 shirt to the
number 88 shirt was criticised in the press due to its supposed
neo-Nazi connotations, Buffon denied any knowledge of the association, stating that 88 represented "four balls", which are symbols of the character and attributes of a person. He stated that they were meant to signify his need for these attributes after his injury prior to Euro 2000, and that they also represented his "rebirth". choosing the
squad number 77 instead.
Juventus 2001–2004: initial dominance On 3 July 2001, Buffon was sold to Juventus for
a world-record goalkeeper's transfer fee of 100
billion lire. This transfer fee made Buffon
Juventus' most expensive purchase ever; the record broken in 2016 by the acquisition of
Gonzalo Higuaín. He was given the
number 1 shirt as the starting goalkeeper, replacing
Edwin van der Sar. Although negotiations were ongoing with
Barcelona, he chose Juventus because his father convinced him he would be likely to achieve his ambition of winning the
Scudetto. In his
first season with Juventus, Buffon appeared in 45 official matches, helping his team to the Serie A title. Juventus was the team with the least goals conceded, with 22 goals in 34 Serie A matches. Juventus also finished as runners-up in the
Coppa Italia to Parma; Buffon only made one appearance in the competition. Buffon was awarded his third Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award was nominated for the
UEFA Team of the Year, losing to
Rüştü Reçber. At the beginning of the
2002–03 season, Juventus won the
2002 Supercoppa Italiana against Parma. Buffon had a dominant year, totalling 47 appearances in all competitions, of which 32 were in Serie A. He helped Juventus to the
UEFA Champions League final, but lost in a penalty shoot-out to Milan. which he later described as the most difficult save of his career in his 2008 autobiography. Juventus obtained their second consecutive Serie A, finishing with the least goals conceded with only 23 goals in 32 appearances. He also became the only goalkeeper ever to win the now defunct
UEFA Most Valuable Player or
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award. He won the
UEFA Best Goalkeeper award, and was elected to the
UEFA Team of the Year and named the
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper. Buffon was also nominated for the
2003 Ballon d'Or that season, finishing in ninth place. In the
2003–04 season, Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16 of the
Champions League and finished the Serie A season in third place, and also reached the
Coppa Italia final. Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus that season on 30 September 2003 in a 2–1 away win over
Olympiacos. He was named by
Pelé as one of the
top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Buffon received his first
FIFA World Player of the Year nomination in 2004, finishing in 21st place.
2004–2006: Calciopoli and relegation In August 2005, Buffon collided with Milan midfielder
Kaká during the annual preseason
Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi match, suffering a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. He returned to the Juventus starting line-up in November, but another injury sidelined him again. He returned to the starting line-up in January 2006, helping Juventus win their second consecutive
Scudetto. Juventus were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the
Champions League and in the quarter-finals of the
Coppa Italia. Buffon was named IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for the third time On 12 May 2006, several players, including Buffon, were accused of participating in illegal betting on Serie A matches, which initially put his place in Italy's 2006 World Cup squad at risk. In the
2006 World Cup he was Italy's starting goalkeeper and helped the country win their fourth title. He was cleared of all charges in December 2006. After the
Calciopoli scandal, in which Juventus were relegated to
Serie B, Buffon elected to remain with Juventus.
2006–2011: Serie B champions, Serie A return and injuries During the
2006–07 Serie B season, Buffon made 37 appearances. In 2007, Buffon was also elected as the goalkeeper for the
2007 FIFPro XI for the second consecutive year, and the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper for a fourth time. and was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the seventh time in his career. During this season, Buffon began to suffer problems with his back, caused by a herniated disc, which kept him sidelined during the next few seasons. Buffon had recurring injuries during the
2009–10 season as well, and Juventus suffered a dip in form. In 2010, Buffon was voted goalkeeper of the decade by IFFHS. Buffon did not play for the first half of the
2010–11 season as he was recovering from surgery after an injury he endured to his sciatic nerve during the
2010 World Cup. the first time since the
1990–91 season.
2011–2014: new era of dominance in Serie A During the
2011–12 season Buffon kept his 15th
clean sheet of the season in Juventus's victory over rivals Inter in the ''
Derby d'Italia''. Juventus finished the season unbeaten, Buffon obtained a league record of 21 clean sheets in Serie A, and only conceded a personal best of 16 goals from 35 appearances (an average of 0.46 goals per game). Buffon made 81 saves in Serie A that season and his 82 percent save percentage was the highest of any goalkeeper playing in one of
Europe's five major leagues. Buffon was included in the
2011–12 Serie A Team of the Year for his performances. On 25 February 2012, Juventus faced
rivals Milan, with whom they were competing for the 2011–12 Serie A title. With Milan leading 1–0 at home,
Sulley Muntari appeared to have doubled Milan's lead with a header from a cross by
Urby Emanuelson; however the
goal was not given by referee
Paolo Tagliavento despite the ball crossing the line while being parried by Buffon. The match ended 1–1. Following the match, when asked about the incident, Buffon was criticised in the press for his response, stating: "The situation was so convoluted that I really didn't realise [if the ball had crossed the goal-line]. But even if I had realised that the ball was in the goal, I'm being honest in saying that I wouldn't have helped out the referee. I'm saying this in a very calm and impassive manner. But I'm confirming: on the pitch I didn't realise whether it was a goal or not. Juventus went on to win the league title that season. in 2013 On 11 August 2012, Buffon lifted his first trophy as the new
Juventus captain, following
Alessandro Del Piero's departure as Juventus defeated
Napoli 4–2 in the
2012 Supercoppa Italiana. Buffon suffered a minor injury and missed the first Serie A match of the
2012–13 season. He returned to the starting line-up on 2 September as team captain. He was nominated for the
2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or and the
2012 UEFA Team of the Year for his performances throughout the calendar year. He obtained his first
Champions League clean sheet on 7 November against
Nordsjælland and kept clean sheets against Chelsea and
Shakhtar Donetsk, the latter of which was on Buffon's 100th club appearance in European competitions. Buffon kept a clean sheet in a
Coppa Italia win against
Cagliari on 12 December. Buffon was voted second in the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, behind
Iker Casillas, and named goalkeeper of the century by the same organisation. On 23 January 2013, Buffon signed a contract extension with Juventus, keeping him at the club until 2015. On 27 January 2013, Buffon was awarded the
Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award for the eighth time in his career. Juventus retained their
Serie A title that season, and finished the league with the least goals conceded, with just 19 goals. On 24 November, Buffon made his 500th appearance in Serie A, keeping a clean sheet against
Livorno. Buffon conceded a goal against Atalanta, setting a personal best of 745 minutes without goal concession in Serie A and equalling
Luca Marchegiani's
sixth-best unbeaten streak in Serie A history. Buffon was nominated for the
2013 FIFPro XI and the
2013 Ballon d'Or for his performances throughout the calendar year. In 2013, Buffon was named the second best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS, behind
Manuel Neuer. He earned the Juventus player of the month award for December 2013. On 16 March 2014, Buffon saved the 20th penalty of his career in a 1–0 away win over
Genoa, equalling
Dino Zoff's 476 appearances for Juventus as the club's fifth all-time appearance holder. Buffon lifted the Serie A title for the third consecutive year, captaining the team to their 30th league title. Juventus finished the
2013–14 season with the least goals conceded in the league, and Buffon managed 89 saves and 18 clean sheets in 33 appearances, conceding 19 goals. Buffon was chosen for the
2013–14 Europa League Team of the Season for his performances throughout the tournament. On 1 July 2014, Buffon signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 2017.
2014–15: second Champions League final and first Coppa Italia with Juventus In the summer of 2014, manager Antonio Conte left Juventus to take charge of the Italy national team, with former Milan manager
Massimiliano Allegri called in as his replacement. On 29 October, Buffon made his 500th appearance for Juventus in a 1–0 away loss to Genoa. On 24 November, Buffon was nominated for the 2014
FIFPro World XI for a record tenth time. He is currently the only goalkeeper to have been nominated for the award every year since its inception in 2005. The same week, Buffon was also nominated for the
UEFA Team of the Year. On 15 December, Buffon was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the ninth time in his career, and was elected to the
2014 Serie A Team of the Year. On 22 December, Juventus were defeated by Napoli in the
2014 Supercoppa Italiana 8–7 on penalties, following a 2–2 draw after extra time. Although Buffon made several saves during the match, and managed to stop three penalties in the shoot-out, he was unable to prevent his team from losing the title. Buffon placed fourth in the 2014 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, behind Manuel Neuer,
Thibaut Courtois and
Keylor Navas; this was the 15th consecutive year in which he had been named as one of the world's top five goalkeepers. On 15 February 2015, Buffon surpassed
Gaetano Scirea as the Juventus player with the second most minutes played in Serie A, behind only
Giampiero Boniperti. On 2 March 2015, Buffon equalled Scirea as the Juventus player with the third most appearances in Serie A, behind only Boniperti and Del Piero. He later surpassed Scirea on 14 March, making his 378th Serie A appearance with Juventus in a 1–0 away win over
Palermo. After keeping a clean sheet in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against
Monaco on 22 April, Buffon overtook Dida as the goalkeeper with the fourth-highest number of clean sheets in Champions League history, with 36. On 26 April, Buffon made his 528th appearance for Juventus in all competitions, equalling
Giuseppe Furino as the player with third-most appearances for the club; he overtook Furino on 29 April. On 2 May, Buffon kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win over
Sampdoria, as Juventus won their fourth consecutive Serie A title. On 13 May, Buffon produced a man of the match performance as Juventus drew 1–1 with
Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the second leg of the
UEFA Champions League semi-final, only being beaten by a
Cristiano Ronaldo penalty; the result allowed Buffon to progress to his second career Champions League final with Juventus, 12 years after his last appearance. On 20 May, he won his first
Coppa Italia title with Juventus, despite not featuring throughout the tournament that season. On 23 May, in his 900th career appearance, Buffon saved a
Lorenzo Insigne penalty in a 3–1 home win over Napoli in Serie A. Buffon captained Juventus in the
2015 Champions League final as the club were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at
Berlin's
Olympiastadion. Buffon made the most saves throughout the tournament (39), and kept the most clean sheets (6), along with
Danijel Subašić, Manuel Neuer and
Marc-André ter Stegen. He was named to the
2014–15 UEFA Champions League Team of the Season for his performances throughout the tournament. On 15 July 2015, Buffon was named to the ten-man shortlist for the 2015
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. His save on
Dani Alves in the Champions League final was also nominated for the UEFA Save of the Season Award, finishing on a tied third-place in the voting.
2015–16: fifth consecutive Scudetto and record Serie A unbeaten streak On 8 August, Buffon kept a clean sheet as Juventus defeated Lazio 2–0 in the
2015 Supercoppa Italiana to win the title for a record seventh time. This was also Buffon's sixth title, and his fifth with Juventus. That year Buffon placed fourth in the
2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and named the first Juventus Player of the Month of the
2015–16 season for September by fans. On 21 October 2015, Buffon overtook Del Piero's record for most minutes played with Juventus, made his 100th Champions League appearance on 3 November. The following week, Buffon was nominated for the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year, also making his 100th appearance for Juventus in European Club Competitions on 25 November. The following day, Buffon was included in the player shortlist for the 2015 FIFPro World XI. On 4 December 2015, Buffon made his 400th Serie A appearance with Juventus. For his performances throughout the previous season, Buffon was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the tenth time in his career on 14 December, and subsequently to the
2015 Serie A Team of the Year. Later that month, he was named one of the three finalists for the
Globe Soccer Player of the Year Award. On 6 January 2016, he placed second in the 2015 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, once again behind Manuel Neuer. On 6 March 2016, in a league match against Atalanta, Buffon extended his unbeaten record by keeping another clean sheet in a 2–0 away win, also equalling Dino Zoff's and Sebastiano Rossi's league record of nine consecutive clean sheets in Serie A. His unbeaten streak of 836 minutes without conceding a goal was the third best unbeaten streak in Serie A history, behind only Zoff and Rossi, and was also the longest period a goalkeeper has gone without conceding a goal since three points for a win were introduced in Serie A during the 1994–95 season. He overtook Zoff in a 1–0 home victory over
Sassuolo on 11 March, achieving a league record 10 consecutive clean sheets, and extended his unbeaten streak to 926 minutes without conceding a goal, only three minutes behind the all-time record holder, Rossi; the last time he had conceded a goal was when he was beaten by
Antonio Cassano, in the 64th minute of a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria, on 10 January 2016. Buffon surpassed Rossi's record of 929 minutes by 45 minutes in a 4–1 away win over
inter-city rivals Torino on 20 March, also surpassing
Gianpiero Combi's Italian league record unbeaten streak of 934 minutes in the process; he set the new all-time record at 974 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
Andrea Belotti finally ended his goalless streak by beating him from the penalty spot in the 48th minute of the same match. On 24 April, Buffon saved a late penalty from
Nikola Kalinić to secure a 2–1 away victory over Fiorentina, his 13th penalty save in Serie A; following Napoli's defeat against Roma the following day, Juventus clinched their record fifth consecutive Serie A title with three games at hand. In addition to his decisive saves and record breaking unbeaten streak, Buffon was praised for his leadership, and his role in motivating the team following their defeat against Sassuolo on 28 October 2015, as Juventus subsequently went on a 25-match unbeaten streak to come back from 12th place after ten matches to win the title. For his key performances in helping Juventus capture the league title, Buffon was named the Juventus Player of the Month for April 2016. On 11 May, Buffon extended his contract until the end of the 2017–18 season. Throughout the 2015–16 season, Buffon had managed to equal his personal best of 21 clean sheets in a single league season, and was voted Juventus' Player of the Season. On 18 July, Buffon was included in the ten-man shortlist for the 2016 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, in which he finished sixth.
2016–17: record sixth straight Scudetto and third Champions League Final On 11 October 2016, Buffon became the first goalkeeper ever to win the
Golden Foot Award. Following his performances throughout the year, Buffon was included in the 30-man shortlist for the
2016 Ballon d'Or; he placed ninth alongside
Pepe in the final ranking. In Juventus' fourth Champions League group match of the season on 2 November, a 1–1 home draw against Lyon, Buffon made his
100th Champions League appearance (excluding appearances in qualifying rounds), becoming the 29th player to reach this landmark. On 4 November, he was included in the 23-player shortlist for
The 2016 Best FIFA Men's Player Award. On 6 November, Buffon earned his 600th Serie A appearance in a 2–1 away win against Chievo, the fourth player to reach this milestone. His performances saw him earn the Juventus Player of the Month Award for October 2016. On 21 November, Buffon was nominated for the UEFA Team of the Year for the ninth time his career, making him goalkeeper with the most nominations ever, alongside Iker Casillas. On 1 December, Buffon was nominated for the 2016 FIFPro World XI, making him the only player, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, to have been included in the shortlist every year since its inception in 2005. On 23 December, Buffon made his 600th competitive appearance for Juventus in the
2016 Supercoppa Italiana; following a 1–1 draw after extra time, Juventus lost 4–3 to Milan in a penalty shoot-out, although Buffon saved
Gianluca Lapadula's initial spot kick. Buffon capped off the year by placing second in the 2016 IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award, finishing behind Neuer once again. On 5 January 2017, Buffon was named to the
2016 UEFA Team of the Year, becoming the oldest player ever to be named to the UEFA Team of the Year; this was also the fourth time he had been voted to the UEFA Team of the Year. On 30 January, Buffon was voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the 11th time, and named to the
2016 Serie A Team of the Year. On 17 February, Buffon made his 443rd Serie A appearance for Juventus in a 4–1 home win over Palermo, equalling Giampiero Boniperti as the club's all-time second highest appearance holder in the competition, behind only Del Piero. On 22 February, he made his 100th Champions League appearance for Juventus in the first leg of the club's round of 16 tie against Porto, keeping a clean sheet in the 2–0 away win. On 5 March, Buffon drew level with Totti as the joint third-highest appearance holder in Serie A after making his 612th appearance in the competition in a 1–1 away draw against Udinese. On 19 March, Buffon surpassed Boniperti as the all-time minute holder for a Juventus player in Serie A in the 66th minute of a 1–0 away win over Sampdoria. On 2 April, he equalled
Javier Zanetti as the joint-second highest appearance holder of all time in Serie A, with his 615th Serie A appearance in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli. On 3 May, Buffon made his 100th appearance for Juventus in the UEFA Champions League (excluding appearances in the qualifying rounds) in a 2–0 away win against Monaco, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the competition; Buffon became only the second Italian player after Paolo Maldini to make 100 Champions League appearances for a single club, and marked the occasion with a clean sheet, his 47th overall in the competition, making him the goalkeeper with the third-highest number of Champions League clean sheets, alongside Čech, and behind only Casillas (57) and Van der Sar (50). This was the first time Juventus had managed to keep six consecutive clean sheets in a single edition of the tournament, the joint third-best number of consecutive clean sheets in a single Champions League season. On 9 May, Buffon made his 150th UEFA club appearance in a 2–1 home win over Monaco in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, to reach the final, making him the player with the
ninth-most appearances in UEFA club matches, alongside
Jamie Carragher.
Kylian Mbappé's second-half goal ended Buffon's goalless streak, which saw him set a new personal best of 600 minutes without conceding a goal in the Champions League, and put him fifth on the all-time table, while Juventus' overall unbeaten run of 690 minutes was the second-longest in the history of the competition. On 17 May 2017, Juventus won their
12th Coppa Italia title in a 2–0 win over Lazio, becoming the first team to win three consecutive cups. Buffon did not feature, as his usual back-up
Neto was the club's starting goalkeeper in the competition. Four days later on 21 May, following a 3–0 win over
Crotone, Juventus secured their sixth consecutive Serie A title, establishing an all-time record of successive triumphs in the competition; with his eighth Serie A title, Buffon equalled
Virginio Rosetta,
Giovanni Ferrari, and Giuseppe Furino as the player with the most Italian league title victories. On 3 June 2017, Juventus entered a
second Champions League final in three years, and the third final for Buffon, but were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid. With his third Champions League final defeat, Buffon became the player with the most Champions League final appearances without a Champions League medal, alongside former Juventus teammates
Paolo Montero and
Alessio Tacchinardi. He was named in the
UEFA Champions League squad of the season for the second time,
2017–2018: final season of first spell with Juventus and seventh consecutive Scudetto On 12 June 2017, Buffon announced that the
2017–18 season would likely be his last with the club. Buffon won the Goalkeeper of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award, On 19 August, Buffon made history by saving the first Serie A penalty awarded via
VAR in a 3–0 home win over
Cagliari in the club's opening
league match of the season. On 23 October, Buffon won the inaugural
2017 Best FIFA Goalkeeper award, On 27 November, Buffon won the
Serie A Footballer of the Year award, the first time a goalkeeper won the award, along with the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award for the twelfth time, while being named to the Serie A Team of the Year for the fifth time in his career. On 3 December, he equalled Casillas by winning the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award for a record fifth time, Following Juventus' 1–0 away victory against fellow title contenders Napoli on 1 December, Buffon was ruled out of Juventus' final
Champions League group match against Olympiacos four days later, after picking up a calf strain in the previous match, an injury which kept him sidelined for almost two months. On 11 January 2018, Buffon was named to the
2017 UEFA Team of the Year for the fifth time. He made his 500th league appearance with Juventus — including both Serie A and Serie B matches — on 9 February, in a 2–0 away win over Fiorentina. After Juventus lost 3–0 to Real Madrid at home in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on 3 April, Buffon helped Juventus keep a 3–0 away lead in the second leg on 11 April, until the 93rd minute when he was sent off for dissent after a confrontation with referee
Michael Oliver who awarded a stoppage time penalty to Real Madrid;
Wojciech Szczęsny was forced to be substituted in, with the resulting penalty kick converted by Cristiano Ronaldo for a final 4–3 aggregate loss, eliminating Juventus. On 11 May, Buffon was charged by
UEFA over post-match comments made about referee Oliver, saying in part, "...Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a bag of rubbish...". Buffon later apologized for his comments. On 5 June, he received a three-match ban for UEFA competition matches. On 9 May, Buffon kept a clean sheet, his 300th clean sheet with Juventus, and his 383rd at club level, in a 4–0 win over Milan in the
2018 Coppa Italia final; this was Juventus' fourth consecutive Coppa Italia title. On 13 May, Buffon won his record seventh straight
Scudetto, following a 0–0 draw with Roma in Juventus' penultimate match of the season while an unused substitute; with this league victory, he became the first player ever to win nine Serie A titles. On 17 May, with one league match remaining, Buffon announced in a press conference that he would leave Juventus at the end of the season. On 19 May, after 17 seasons with the club, Buffon played his 656th and final match with Juventus, the last match of the season at home against
Hellas Verona. He started in goal, and was later substituted in the 64th minute by debutant
Carlo Pinsoglio as he received a standing ovation with the score 2–0 in favour of Juventus; the match later ended in a 2–1 victory. On 30 June, the final day of his Juventus contract, Buffon bid the club farewell with a post on
Twitter:
Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 On 6 July 2018, Buffon signed a one-year contract, with the option for a second year, with
Paris Saint-Germain. He made his competitive debut for PSG on 4 August, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win against Monaco in the
2018 Trophée des Champions. He was used in a rotational role with
Alphonse Areola during the 2018–19 season by manager
Thomas Tuchel. After serving a three-match ban in UEFA club competitions, Buffon started for PSG in a 1–1 away draw against Napoli on 6 November, and was beaten by an Insigne penalty; at the age of 40 years and 282 days, he became the second-oldest player ever to make their Champions League debut for a club after
Mark Schwarzer, who made his debut in the competition with Chelsea in a 1–0 home victory over
Steaua București on 11 December 2013, aged 41 years and 65 days. On 18 December, following an injury to Areola, Buffon played the second half of an eventual 2–1 away win over
Orléans in the round of 16 of the
Coupe de la Ligue. PSG were eliminated from the competition in the following round after a surprise 2–1 home defeat to
Guingamp on 9 January 2019, during which Buffon remained on the bench. On 12 February, Buffon kept his 50th Champions League clean sheet in a 2–0 away win over
Manchester United, becoming only the third goalkeeper to reach this milestone after Iker Casillas (57) and Edwin van der Sar (51). He also made his 121st Champions League appearance – excluding qualifying rounds – during the same match, which made him the
player with the tenth-most appearances of all time in the competition. In the return leg in Paris on 6 March, Buffon came under criticism in the media for committing an error with the score tied 1–1, after he spilled
Marcus Rashford's long-range shot, thus allowing
Romelu Lukaku to score from the rebound and send United into the lead; following an injury-time goal from a penalty by Rashford, Manchester United completed a comeback to win the match 3–1, advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals. PSG finished the season as Ligue 1 champions, which saw Buffon win his tenth league title of his career, the most of any Italian player. PSG later lost 6–5 on penalties to
Rennes in the
2019 Coupe de France final, following a 2–2 draw after extra time, although Buffon did not appear during the final. On 5 June, it was confirmed that he was leaving the club after one season.
Return to Juventus 2019–2021: record-breaking appearances On 4 July 2019, after a season away from Juventus, Buffon signed a one-year contract with the club. Upon arrival, he was offered the number 1 shirt by
Wojciech Szczęsny and the captaincy by
Giorgio Chiellini, but he turned them down, saying "I didn't come back to take something from someone or take it back...I just want to do my bit for the team". Instead, he chose to wear number 77; the same number he had worn during his final season at Parma, before joining Juventus in 2001. On 28 September, he overtook Maldini with his 903rd appearance in a 2–0 home win over
SPAL in Serie A. On 30 October 2019, Buffon made his 513th league appearance for Juventus (including Serie B matches) in a 2–1 home win over Genoa in Serie A, equalling Del Piero as the player with the most league appearances for the club. On 11 December, he kept his 51st Champions League clean sheet (excluding those in the qualifying rounds) in a 2–0 away win over
Bayer Leverkusen in Juventus' final
group match of the campaign, equalling Van der Sar as the goalkeeper with the second-most clean sheets ever in the competition, behind only Iker Casillas. On 15 December, he made his 700th Italian league appearance in a 3–1 home win over Udinese; during the same match, he also made his 478th Serie A appearance for Juventus, which saw him equal Del Piero as the player with the most appearances in the competition for the club. On 18 December, in a 2–1 away win over Sampdoria, Buffon made his 479th Serie A appearance for Juventus, surpassing Del Piero's appearance record for the club in the Italian top flight, as well as making his 647th overall Serie A appearance, tying Maldini as the player with the most appearances in the competition. On 13 February 2020, Buffon made nine saves in a 1–1 away draw against Milan in the first leg of the
Coppa Italia semi-finals. He started in the
final against Napoli on 17 June, keeping a clean sheet and making a series of injury-time saves to keep the score tied at 0–0; however, Juventus suffered a 4–2 defeat in the resulting penalty shoot-out, with Buffon unable to save any spot kicks. On 29 June, Buffon signed a new contract with Juventus, extending until June 2021. On 4 July, he made his 648th appearance in Serie A in a 4–1 home win over rivals Torino, overtaking Maldini as the most capped player of all time in the competition, also becoming the most capped player in Europe's top five leagues with 665 appearances, including his 17 Ligue 1 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain during the 2018–19 season. On 17 October, Buffon made his first appearance of the
2020–21 season, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Crotone. On 8 December, Buffon kept a clean sheet by saving seven shots, all of them taken by Messi, in a 3–0 away win over Barcelona in Juventus' final
Champions League group match of the campaign. Buffon became the first goalkeeper to ever record a Champions League clean sheet in four different decades. Messi's seven shots on target were also the most recorded without scoring in the Champions League since the 2002–03 edition. On 11 May 2021, Buffon announced that he would leave Juventus at the end of the season. The following day, Buffon saved
Domenico Berardi's penalty in a 3–1 away victory against
Sassuolo, becoming the oldest Serie A goalkeeper to do so at the age of . On 19 May, he started in Juventus's 2–1 victory over Atalanta in the
2021 Coppa Italia final, his final and 685th appearance for the club; after the match, he was given the honour of lifting the title, the sixth of his career, equalling
Roberto Mancini as the player with the
most title victories.
Return to Parma and retirement On 17 June 2021, after days of speculation following his departure from Juventus, newly relegated
Parma announced the return of Buffon through a short video posted on the club's official Twitter account. Upon winning the Coppa Italia in his last season at Juventus, many expected that it was going to be the end of his career. Instead, he announced that he was going to join his boyhood club; this marked 20 years since he left Parma for Juventus in 2001. On 20 August 2021, Buffon made his first appearance, conceding a late equaliser in a 2–2 away draw against
Frosinone. On 5 February 2022, following a 0–0 away draw against
Benevento in Serie B, Buffon became the first goalkeeper ever in men's association football to keep 500 clean sheets (322 with Juventus, 92 with Parma, 9 with PSG and 77 with Italy). On 28 February, Parma announced Buffon's contract extension until 2024, which would have kept him playing until the age of 46. On 2 August 2023, at the age of 45 and after a 28-year playing career, Buffon announced his retirement from professional football. His final career appearance was on 30 May of that year, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the
2022–23 Serie B promotion play-offs; Parma lost out to 3–2 to eventual winners Cagliari after leading 2–0 at half-time, with Buffon going off injured at the break, which ruled him out of the second leg. == International career ==