Arsenal, Manchester United and City tried to sign me – Buffon
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says Premier League giants Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City have attempted to sign him during his illustrious career.
The 38-year-old revealed that he met with Arsene Wenger in 1998 to discuss a potential move to Arsenal, while legendary United manager Alex Ferguson was also interested in taking him to Old Trafford when he was at Parma.
Buffon decided to stay in Italy, though, and moved from Parma to Juventus in 2001 before big-spending City later tried to entice him to the Etihad Stadium
“I remember when I was 20 years old in 1998 I had dinner once with Wenger from Arsenal,” Buffon told BT Sport.
“Then when I was at Parma, Manchester United definitely had their eyes on me for a long time with Ferguson.
“Let’s say that the most serious and direct approach I had was from Manchester City. Â They wanted to start their adventure by signing two or three more renowned players and I was one of them. That was 2007 or 2008 roughly.
“However, nothing came of it for various reasons.”
Buffon has earned legendary status at Juve having amassed over 550 appearances for the club, winning eight Serie A titles during that time –Â although two were subsequently revoked because of the Turin side’s involvement in the Calciopoli scandal.
The Italy international has also reached two Champions League finals, but was on the losing side against AC Milan in 2003 and again versus Barcelona last season.
