Top Football Players: Gianluigi Buffon Juventus

Juventus goalkeeper and Italian international Gianluigi Buffon (31) has said in an interview with Italian televison channel Sky that when he left Parma in 2001, he was close to joining Barcelona:

"I chose Juve because my agent, Silvano Martina, and my father advised me to do that. Back then, I had to choose between Roma, Barcelona and Juve.

At the start my friendship with Totti and Vito Scala [Roma physical coach] made me prefer Roma, where Capello had just arrived and he seemed to start an era of an invincible team. I remember that Silvano and my father went there to talk with president Sensi but Roma took a step back and in the end they preferred to sign Pellizzoli, whom they could get for a lower transfer fee but who was at that time one of the most promising goalkeepers.

With Barcelona we had serious negotiations but right when Silvano Martina was going to Spain to close the deal, Moggi [Juventus general director at the time] called him and the Agnelli family got involved. I had a great desire to win an Italian league and my father told me that Juve hadn't won the title for five years but that they would again win it in the next two years. In the end I followed his advice and it has been a good choice."