Gianluigi Buffon was
wanted by both Manchester clubs at various points in his career, but the
Italian goalkeeping great says he turned them both down.
Buffon started his career
at Parma before going on to immense success at Juventus. He joined Paris Saint-Germain last
summer, with the Ligue 1 champions facing
Manchester United in
their Champions League last 16 second leg clash on Wednesday.
However, he says he could
have moved to the Premier League with United at the start of his career, or to
Manchester City at the peak of his powers.
Speaking to BT Sport,
Buffon said: 'When I was a boy playing for Parma, (Sir Alex) Ferguson tracked
me closely for two or three years, and he'd always send scouts to watch me. At
the time, Parma was my world and I didn't feel like leaving.
'I later had a very big
offer from Manchester City, when they started to build the team and become the
most important side in Europe. They wanted me to be the first signing, but I
stayed at Juve.'
Buffon is searching for
his first Champions League title, at the age of 40, with PSG on the verge of
the quarter-finals after beating United 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg
With Neymar injured, PSG
are relying on the firepower of Kylian Mbappe, whose strong personality was
praised by his manager, Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel says
World Cup winner Mbappe can be tough to deal with, but that his forceful will
is an important part of what makes him a top player.
Speaking about Mbappe,
Tuchel said: 'Well the guy is hungry, and he is a big personality, really big.
So this is not always easy, because the big personality is challenging for me
as a coach. At the same time he is a really nice guy.
'It is important he has
this personality to challenge me, and everyone around him, because he has the
hunger to be really as special player in history.'
Tuchel replaced
now-Arsenal manager Unai Emery at PSG last summer, and has been praised as
'incredible' by defender Dani Alves.
The former Borussia Dortmund
coach has maintained their dominance of Ligue 1 while chasing long desired
success in the Champions League.
Alves said: 'He's
incredible - a German with a Brazilian soul! The atmosphere he's created here,
he's brought the pleasure back into coming to work, and you approach things
with a big smile and energy. He reminds me of Pep [Guardiola], he really does
in this sense.
'He makes things really
smooth, he's stubborn but he does things his own way. He's a great man manager
and dressing room manager, and team manager. This gives us a better chance of
doing well this season.'
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