When Juventus made Gianluigi Buffon the world s most expensive goalkeeper for a reported €53.5million in 2001, high expectations certainly accompanied the promising 23-year-old.
But few, if any, would have dared to predict he would still be at the peak of his powers some 17 years later.
Yet the 40-year-old appears to have lost very little – if any – of the command, agility and leadership he has shown throughout his immense career.
Buffon is not sure he will stop just yet, either, having confirmed he has had offers to continue playing after he leaves Juve at the end of the season, although he will fall short of Paolo Maldini s record of 647 Serie A appearances if he moves abroad.
Nevertheless, he will go down as one of the greats and may well reta…