City Swoop for Buffon
By Danny Wright • Nov 22nd, 2008 • Category: Transfers & RumoursBy Danny Wright
Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon will sign for Manchester City in the January transfer window, according to The Times. The paper reports today that Mark Hughes is lining up a £50m swoop for the stopper, who is regarded as the world’s finest. Officials from the club flew to Turin earlier this month to discuss the move, which would shatter the world-record transfer fee set by Zinédine Zidane’s £48m switch to Real Madrid in 2001.
Buffon currently holds the record amount paid for a goalkeeper, an astonishing £32.6m received by Parma in exchange for the keeper’s services.
Juve are reluctant to let their prize asset leave the club though, but manager Claudio Ranieri said if the price was right then he would have to consider letting the 30-year-old go.
“At the moment a move is not on the cards,” Ranieri said.
“[But] if someone offers €50million to the club, I will be the first to tell the directors to sell me. I want the best for Juventus and with that amount they could reinforce the squad.”
The Times says the money could also be used to finance Juve’s plans for a new 40,000 capacity stadium.
The move could be bad news for current keepers Joe Hart and Kasper Schmeichel, who may have to look elsewhere for regular first-team football.
Hughes is eager to bring in Buffon to provide more experience to his new-look side after a summer bid for Brad Friedel was unsuccessful.
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Danny Wright is a freelance sports journalist and goalkeeper
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I think would be much more prudent looking elsewhere. Buffon is over-rated and at £50 million hugely over-priced! I also think its a shame if they ditch Joe Hart and their youth policy. Man Utd & Chelsea all win titles with english/british players at the core (if not in goal) it would be a shame if their possibly inevitable future success is overly cosmopolitan.