Italy's Buffon returns to boyhood club Parma

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon left Juventus to join his boyhood club Parma on Thursday.

"He [Buffon] is back where he belongs. He is back home," Parma said in a video on Twitter.

The 43-year-old appears in the video, answering a phone call to say: "OK Kyle [Parma president]. I am in! I am back!"

In a statement, Parma said a deal has been reached for two years until June 30, 2023.

Buffon was a Parma player from 1995-2001 before joining Juventus and French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

He was a Juventus regular from 2001-2018, and 2019-2021 but spent one season in Paris to return to Juventus in the 2019 summer.

A 10-time Italian champion with Juventus, he also helped the PSG win the French Ligue 1 in 2019. He won the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy.

Buffon played in 220 games for Parma to win an Italian Cup, an Italian Super Cup and the 1999 UEFA Cup.

The UEFA Cup was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League in the 2009-10 season.