Buffon reveals Gasperini’s message: ‘If you want to get bored on the bench…’ | OneFootball

Gianluigi Buffon reveals he twice had a chance to join Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta and the coach even texted him: ‘If you want to get bored on the bench, stay there.’

Juventus legend Buffon and current Italy‘s Delegation Chief Gigi Buffon has revealed that he could have joined Atalanta as a footballer.

Buffon tempted by Atalanta move

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – SEPTEMBER 07: Head of Italy delegation Gianluigi Buffon reacts during a Italy training session at Bozsik Stadion on September 07, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

“I had two opportunities to join Gasperini at Atalanta, which I wouldn’t have minded. There was a team that played on par with everyone, and I had a bit of desire,” Buffon told DAZN via Sport Mediaset.

Gasperini’s message to Buffon

CREMONA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 23: Coach Gian Piero Gasperini of AS Roma reacts during the Serie A match between US Cremonese and AS Roma at Stadio Giovanni Zini on November 23, 2025 in Cremona, Italy. (Photo by Marco M. Mantovani/Getty Images)

“He [Gasperini] sent me one last message when I was 43, writing: ‘If you want to get bored on the bench, stay there.’ I would have been glad to go.”

Buffon was playing at Juventus and that time, but then returned to Parma in 2021 and spent the last two seasons of his career in Serie B at the Stadio Tardini.

Nevertheless, the legendary goalkeeper has no regrets about his decisions: “No, because my history with Juventus and Parma was too important. I would have liked it. I was at a moment in my career where I could have played at a high level for two or three years and be an added value, but sometimes it’s fair to give up something.”