Buffon looks ahead to final Champions League campaign

Cape Town - Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is preparing for what could be his final season in the Champions League, and he’s hoping for a tour of Europe’s top stadiums.

Ahead of Thursday’s group stage draw in Monaco, Juve’s potential opponents include Barcelona and Manchester United in pot three, and Celtic in pot four.

"Playing in the Champions League allows you to experience some of the most exciting stadiums in Europe and when you are younger you take that for granted as there are many more opportunities ahead of you," Buffon said, via the Daily Record.

"But as you get older you realise there are things you perhaps won’t experience again. 

"I want to test myself at the Bernabeu and Camp Nou again, I want to play in another special evening game at Old Trafford. I want to experience the electric atmosphere of Celtic Park once more.

"Hopefully I can experience some of those things again - but the reality is that some of them I won’t."

Now 39, Buffon is expected to retire after Italy’s involvement at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making this his final chance to win Europe’s top club competition.

"I will not see my career as incomplete if I do not win the Champions League," Buffon added. "I have won too much with Juventus and Italy to look at it like that - but it still remains a big dream for me.

"The way I look at it is that I have one more year on my contract so I have one more chance to lift the trophy. It will not be easy - but we are ready to fight again.

"If we win the Champions League I will continue to play one more season so I can also try to win the World Club Cup and other trophies."