Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti claim Buffon wants to play at 50 | OneFootball

Italian football legends Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti are convinced that Gianluigi Buffon will have to be forced into retirement.

At 42 years old, Buffon has been there and done that, winning virtually everything in football except the elusive Champions League title, where he’s been on the losing end of three finals (joint-most in history without winning a title).

His passion to the game was made obvious when forwent a speculated retirement to join PSG and then this past summer when he made a sensational return to Juventus.

Though the 176-time Italy international is clearly behind Wojciech Szczęsny in the pecking order, he may need to be pried away from football.

“Well, you’ll know it. He won’t want to stop, but they will make him stop, which is very different,” Cannavaro claimed in an Instagram Live chat.

To which Totti agreed: “I’ll tell you; Gigi wants to play until he’s 50, but he can play for two or three more seasons. Besides, he’s in goal and is a back-up.”

Back in December, Buffon hinted that he’s still got gas left in the tank and plans to remain at Juventus at least another season.

“The reason I keep playing is that I can give myself, along with my team-mates and this club, many beautiful emotions that are worth living.

“The thing that most interests me personally, more than the games, is the role I can play that here at Juve with my team-mates, staff and managers.

“With regards to the future, I let life show me the way: at this moment I would do myself an injury if I thought I would stop playing, because I feel I am a point of reference, beyond the games that are played.”

Back in December, Buffon made his 647th Serie A appearance, which tied Paolo Maldini’s all-time record.