Gianluigi Buffon was set to join Barcelona from Parma in 2001 before Juventus stepped in to complete the deal, according to his agent.
Silvino Martina states that the Bianconeri ‘woke up’ when discovering the bid from the Catalan giants, while the goalkeeper ‘did not have to think twice’ about moving to Turin.
“Barca looked to have bought Buffon, they had an agreement with Parma,” Martina told Diario AS.
“After that, Juve woke up and Gigi did not think twice. We also had a meeting with Bronzetti, a close friend of Florentino Perez, after the Juve-Real game in 2005.
“Madrid were interested, but it didn’t amount to any real negotiations.”
