Buffon Names The Three English Giants That Approached Him For His Services
REUTERS/Darren Staples
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has revealed that three English giants tried to lure him to the Premier League in the past.
Buffon has claimed that Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal tried to bring him to the Premier League, as both Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger came in to get his signature before he switched to the Old Lady.
As per the Italian, both the managers were looking to replace their keepers, Peter Schmeichel and David Seaman respectively, at that time. He added that Manchester City also came in for him, once the club was taken over by their Abu Dhabi owners in 2008.
Buffon revealed, as quoted by the Independent: “From what I know, there have been three serious times when English clubs made an approach for me. Two of them were when I was a young player at Parma, and I know Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger asked about me and then, when Manchester City was taken over, I know they approached Juventus.
“There are many reasons why none of the deals happened. Even though the Premier League is a special league, I have always wanted to stay loyal to Juventus. I have always been very successful here. I would not have changed anything.”
The decorated Italian remains the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, having signed for Juventus from Parma in 2001 for £33 million, and the 39-year-old shot-stopper is now preparing for a Champions League win with his third attempt, having lost in his previous two finals, in 2003 and 2015.
Written by Sidharth Jindal 
Sports fanatic with a passion for writing (predominantly football) and “Wants to live life to its fullest.” Writes about the Premier League on his personal blog.