By Daily Sports on June 30, 2020

Juventus have confirmed that veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon have both signed contract extensions with the club.

The Serie A leaders have awarded the pair deals that will stretch until June 2021, by which time Buffon will be 43 and Chiellini will be close to celebrating his 37th birthday.

Juventus have indicated that the contracts are a reward for the long-term loyalty and quality of the pair.

“There are players who need no introduction,” Juventus said on a statement published on their website. “Champions whose story speaks for itself, and whose connection with the shirt they wear is indissoluble.

“Examples on the pitch and in the locker room, leaders, driving forces, bearers of the Bianconeri DNA, who wear it as a second skin.

“Gianluigi Buffon. Giorgio Chiellini. Captains, legends. Bianconeri since the beginning. Bianconeri forever. And to confirm it, in case there is a need, today their contract renewals have become official, for another: 2021!”

Although both have been legendary figures in the history of the Turin side, neither has played a significant role in the 2019-20 campaign.

Buffon has featured seven times in Serie A but has largely played understudy to Wojciech Szczesny. Nevertheless, the influence off the field was highlighted by former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who spoke of the World Cup winner’s influence on his young career and the regret he felt when the Italian was allowed to depart Parc des Princes.

“I always liked listening to the senior players. Buffon was also very important to me,” the young Frenchman told L’Equipe. 

His last competitive league action came on December 18 in a 2-1 victory over Sampdoria at Juventus Stadium, while he has played 696 games for the club over the course of two spells, the first of which ran from 2001 until 2018.

Captain Chiellini, meanwhile, has had his game time seriously restricted by a cruciate ligament rupture, which sidelined him from the opening match of the Serie A season through until February. He has yet to feature for the first team since the return to action following the coronavirus suspension.

The defender has been at the club since 2005, when he made the switch from Roma. Since then, he has amassed over 500 appearances and has scored 36 goals, picking up eight Serie A titles along the way. (Goal)

•PHOTO: Chiellini and Buffon 

Source Daily Sports

Posted June 30, 2020

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