Gianluigi Buffon has sealed a dramatic return to Parma 20 years after he left the club to join Italian giants Juventus.
Buffon made 220 appearances and won three trophies for Parma between 1995 until 2001, when he left for Turin in a £32million move – at the time a record fee for a goalkeeper – to replace Edwin van der Sar.
But now in an impressive, Superman-themed announcement video released by the club, the legendary Italian goalkeeper has come back to the club where it all began for him 26 years ago after leaving the Allianz Stadium on a free transfer.
The video shows a hooded figure take a shovel and dig up a box inside the goalmouth at the Stadio Tardini, in which he finds a Superman shirt and Parma’s goalkeeper kit.
He is then welcomed home by a mysterious caller before taking his hood off and stating: ‘I’m back’, with the video ending with the words ‘Superman Returns’.
Buffon, 43, is believed to have turned down LaLiga giants Barcelona in order to sign a two-year deal with the Serie B club that could see him play until he is 45.
He has also chosen to stay in Italy for family reasons and is now targeting promotion back to Serie A with Parma, who finished bottom of Italy’s top tier in 2020-21 with a miserly total of 20 points.
