Juventus: 3 players who could follow Gianluigi Buffon into changing clubs

Many of us saw this coming, but maybe not one day after Juventus’ heavy 3-0 defeat to AC Milan. The club legend Gianluigi Buffon confirmed on Tuesday that he would leave the Piedmontese club this summer for the second time in his prolonged career.

Reluctant to pen a new deal, Buffon will be a free agent as soon as his contract with Juventus expires in June 2021. The veteran goalkeeper has not made any further assessment as to when he will hang his gloves. But, the custodian is surely intended to putting an end to his playing career away from Turin.

At the start of the campaign, no one apparently expected to see Juventus finishing outside the top four in Serie A. However, unanticipated things have had happened in football since its inception. And Juventus potentially missing out on a Champions League place right after they became the champions of Italy for the ninth time last season might add another odd feature to that hat of abnormality.

The downfall that Juventus have experienced this season is colossal. And amid the uncertain future of the club, Buffon might not be the only one to part his ways with Le Zebre.

Here are three other names that are likely to follow Gianluigi Buffon into leaving Juventus this summer.

Giorgio Chiellini

Joined from AS Roma in 2005, the Pisa-born defender has been around the Old Lady for the last 16 years. He has won nine Scudetti, five Supercoppa Italiana, and four Coppa Italia titles for Juventus so far. With the Bianconeri meeting Atalanta in the final on May 19, he could add another Coppa Italia to that list.

There have been talks of the centre-half retiring from football at the end of the season. But some reports have also claimed that he is more inclined to extend his career — perhaps not in Juventus or Italy but somewhere else. Just like Buffon, Chiellini is likely to leave Juve this summer as the club is in no mood to offer the 36-year-old a contract renewal.

With over 500 appearances to his name (according to Transfermarkt), Chiellini has established himself as the legend in the eyes of Juventini. The fans admire his loyalty to the club and will always hold a warm place in their hearts for the adept defender.

However, the downslide in his individual game has become more apparent of late. Age has led fatigue to creep into his defensive attributes, which eventually has given birth to inconsistency. Henceforth, he is seemingly no good enough for Juventus anymore. We can’t blame the club for deciding against handing Chiellini an extension. Now, where does his future lie? And who will be his replacement? Those are the stories for another day.