Gianluigi Buffon made pledge to retire before Juventus’ Champions League tie with Barcelona

Juventus and Italy great Gianluigi Buffon has admitted that he has thought about retiring

JUVENTUS and Italy great Gianluigi Buffon has admitted that he thought about retiring from the game before his club side rolled over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Old Lady beat the Spanish giants 3-0 in the first leg in Turin before holding on for a resilient 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp, with 39-year-old Buffon keeping a remarkable two clean sheets over both ties.

And Buffon – who has played for Juve since 2001 – has said that made a promise to himself that he would bow out at the top, if he did not concede against the likes of Lionel Messi.

Messi (left) chatted to goalkeeper Buffon before Barcelona took on Juve in Turin on April 11

‘I said that if I could not concede a single goal over both legs of the tie against Barcelona, it would be the right thing to retire from the game in June – and I said that to [Juventus president, Giovanni] Agnelli’, Buffon told Sky Sport.

However, Buffon admitted that he took Agnelli’s advice, who simply responded: ‘Sometimes people talk a lot of nonsense; don’t worry about anything and keep looking forward.’

Juve are to take on Leonardo Jardim’s high-flying Ligue 1 side Monaco in the Champions League semi-finals, with the first leg on Wednesday at the Stade Louis II and the second on May 9 at the Juventus Stadium.

Buffon warms up prior to the Old Lady’s Serie A clash with Atalanta in Bergamo on Friday

Massimiliano Allegri’s men are nine points clear at the top of the Serie A table with four games to play, and their next league game is a local derby at home to Torino on Saturday.

Buffon – who began his career with Parma in 1995 – has made 168 appearances for his country since making his international debut in 1997.

SOURCE: DAILYMAIL