Gianluigi Buffon speaks about dealing with depression and insists he is not planning to return to Juventus as a director.
The 2006 Italy World Cup winner returned to Parma 20 years after moving to Juventus from the Stadio Tardini.
“I listened to my mind to see if I still have the energy needed for the challenge. Then the heart, because without heart you can’t even win a card game,” Buffon told La Repubblica.
Buffon, 43, also opened up about how he had fought depression in the past.
“My thoughts have been beyond football for a quite long time now. I have many interests and I am looking forward to giving them the space they deserve. I am protected by my son, my brothers and my sisters,” the 43-year-old said.
“I am lucky to have a woman, a wife and a friend such as Ilaria close to me. Depression is a distant memory and I almost feel affection for it because the torment has made me appreciate how intense every single moment of a day can be.”
Why did he return to Parma without considering retiring?
“I’ve proved to be a realist, I am a complicated simple person who feeds himself with dreams even if many of them turn out being illusions or utopia. I am thrilled to be back, I have my roots in Parma. It’s the right dress on the right person.
“I feel like an artist and I didn’t want to stop because I believe that an artist always cultivates the desire to show the gesture, if he is still capable of doing it, for personal satisfaction and a certain dose of narcissism”.
Buffon had left Juventus for one year in 2018 before returning to the club for two more seasons in the summer of 2019. Will he have a role in the club when he retires?
“I have no agreement to do something else with the club. I return to Serie B for the second time in my career. I went there at 28 when I was the leading goalkeeper worldwide. Why shouldn’t I do it at 43? I had chosen Juventus in 2006 and then I chose Parma. I could also play in an amateur league, my worth would not change.”