Buffon speaks on move to PSG

Former Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says he still has “something to give deep within me” after signing for Paris St-Germain.

Buffon, 40, left Juventus at the end of last season, ending a 17-year stay at the club he played 656 matches for.

The nine-time Serie A winner was rumoured to be offered an off-field role at Juve but instead signed a one-year deal with the French champions.

“I’ve arrived in Paris with the enthusiasm of a child,” he said.

“I have always looked for challenges. Today, I had my first training session in Paris. It was nice to communicate in and hear a new language spoken.

“Everyone wants to have an important role on the team. I want to prove I’m still a great goalkeeper.”

Buffon ended his Juventus career with a seventh consecutive league title.

He will link up with new PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel at Parc des Princes and is likely to compete with Alphonse Areola for a starting place.

The French club reached the last 16 of the 2017/18 Champions League before being knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid.

That competition is one of the few major honours to have eluded Buffon in his career, after losing the 2003 final to AC Milan, the 2014 showpiece to Barcelona and the 2017 final to the current holders.

But Buffon said: “The Champions League is not an obsession.

“PSG is the club I’ve been following the most in recent years, I was curious to see what they could give. This new adventure can make me progress as a man and a player.

“I felt I still had something to give deep within me. Sure, I am 40 years old but I am in good physical and mental state.”

PSG’s president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said Buffon “chose Paris to win more trophies”.