Manchester City to tempt Juve with 50m Buffon bid
The biggest rumor of the day, by far, has Manchester City reportedly to make a huge splash in January by making a bid for Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon.
City, who are currently without the services of Joe Hart for the next few weeks with an ankle injury, are reportedly willing to offer Juventus £50m for Buffon, while offering him a five-year contract worth £12m per year.
While the chances are high that City will make a big signing in January, is Buffon a realistic target? He’s been very loyal to Juve, staying at the club even after their relegation to Serie B in 2006, so it doesn’t appear that he’s raring to go anywhere. However, he could be interested in a new challenge, and earlier in the week, he said that if a huge offer did come in for him, he’d tell the directors to accept it.
But, it seems highly, highly unlikely that Juventus would consider selling Buffon, at least anytime soon. £50m would be a £20m profit on their £30m investment in 2001, but money can‘t tempt everyone, especially when it comes to the best keeper in the world.
You certainly can’t fault City for aiming high though, right?
I’d be shocked if Buffon went anywhere. I don’t know if this is a great move for City, either. I think Buffon is the best in the world, but he’s not going to cure what ails City. They have so many other problems that they should be worrying about.
oh and what happens to hart (home grown player in the england squad) then?
This is one of the dumbest rumors I’ve ever heard. You want to break the transfer fee record for an aging, physically deteriorating keeper nearly at, if not past, the end of his prime? And certainly NOT the best keeper in the world - you seem to be forgetting two strapping young lads named Cech and Casillas. I can understand maybe 30m or so for either of them - a worthwhile investment for either keeper, both being young yet experienced, continually improving, and not to mention at least as talented as Buffon, if not better - Cech at least, if not Casillas as well. And this in spite of the additional consideration of the current transfer market value of 50m pounds - you could buy an entire competitive squad with that kind of money. Not to mention that keeper is not the only personnel plague currently affecting Man City. At absolute least it would be foolish because a comparable keeper could be acquired elsewhere for half the price, or at least a high-caliber keeper could be bought for significantly less money; assuming they intend to spend 50m+ for January transfers, there money could be far more efficiently spent elsewhere, even without neglecting the keeper concern. This is stupid, and Manchester City would be stupid for even making this offer in the first place, regardless of whether they execute it or act on it at all.
Rubbish!
there is a difference between a rumour and a waste of writing time. Buffon has said himself if he doesn’t retire at the end of this season it will be next….so 50mill for possibly 4months of play time.. Give over… And for a keeper his age Juve would be tempted by £12,000,000
whats this about his age? more and more keepers today are in fine form well into their 30s. Buffon would be a fine buy. 50m is a lot for any player but Buffon is a world-class keeper with several years left in the tank.
I agree he has more in him, but he doesn’t seem to think so..
I think two more seasons left.
As a Juve supporter, thank god his agent denied the rumour
haha van der sar is way better…gr from holland