TURIN – An emotional Gianluigi Buffon faced the cameras on Thursday to announce that Saturday’s home fixture against Hellas Verona would be his final game for Juventus, bringing an end to an illustrious 17 years with the Turin club.

 Confirming his last run out in the Allianz Stadium the legendary goalkeeper and Juventus captain decided that a trophy-raising finish would be “the best way to end this great adventure.”

 “I feared that I would get to the end of my adventure in a support role or as a player whose engine had gone,” Buffon said.

 “I can say that this is not the case and I'm proud of that,” he added.

 Buffon burst onto the football scene in 1995, making his debut with Parma at the age of just 17. He later transferred to Juventus in 2001, becoming a world-record signing for a goalkeeper, but now says goodbye to Italian football, becoming the final player of the country’s ‘golden generation’ to make his departure.

 But the World Cup winner, widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, held back from announcing his complete retirement from the game, as had been expected.

 “I've had lots of stimulating offers, both on the field, and off it, and the most stimulating of those was made by [Juventus Chairman] Andrea Agnelli,” Buffon said.

 “I'll let these three days pass and then I'll make a final decision,” added the nine-time Serie A champion, who will lift the Italian title for a final time on Saturday.

 Buffon also took the opportunity to apologise to referee Michael Oliver who he had harshly criticised following Juventus’ dramatic defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.

 “I couldn’t do anything else but say those things and I am sorry to have offended the referee,” he said.

 Uefa are set to hear Buffon’s case on 31 May.

 All eyes, however, will be focussed on Buffon’s Juventus farewell this weekend as he concludes a glittering journey with the Italian champions.

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