A media report stated that Gianluigi Buffon, the former goalkeeper of the Italian national football team, rejected an offer to join the coaching staff of the senior national team.

The Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" reported that Paolo Maldini, the technical director of the Italian Football Federation, contacted Buffon to offer him a place within the coaching staff of the Italian national team.

This proposed role would have been a "practical and direct" task within the "Club Italy" project, the entity responsible for overseeing Italy's national teams at various levels and age groups.

Buffon had previously held the position of coordinator for the Italian national team, but he resigned along with Gennaro Gattuso, the technical director, and the former president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, immediately after Italy's loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualifying playoffs at the end of last March, a loss that deprived the "Azzurri" of participating in the world tournament for the third consecutive time.

According to the newspaper, Buffon seriously considered Maldini's offer to return to work within the Italian national team system.

Maldini wanted to involve a highly popular figure with vast experience with the national team, as Buffon holds the record for the most international appearances for Italy and is among the last to win the World Cup with it, and he is also very familiar with the current generation of players and the way the team works.

However, the Italian newspaper indicated that Buffon does not see this as the right time to return to the world of football.

Buffon's career has almost never stopped since he turned professional in 1995; he retired from playing in 2023 before taking on his first role with the Italian national team later that same year.

Since the beginning of April, Buffon has been without a job, and it is expected that he will continue to spend more time with his family and loved ones in the coming period, in addition to continuing his "studies" in preparation for a future career either in management or taking on an administrative role.

"); googletag.cmd.push(function() { onDvtagReady(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-3341368-4'); }); });