Buffon reveals panic attacks and depression

Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has revealed he suffered with depression and once missed a Juventus game after having a panic attack. Former Italy international Buffon, 40, spent 17 years at Juventus, playing 656 times and winning nine Serie A titles, before his 2018 move to PSG.

But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Buffon says he struggled during his early years with the Italian giants. “For a few months, everything lost meaning,” he said. He added: “It seemed like no-one cared about me, just the footballer I represented. “It was like everyone was asking about Buffon and nobody about Gigi.”

Buffon, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, says the turning point came at the age of 25 when he told Juve’s goalkeeping coach he couldn’t play in a Serie A match.

“I went to Ivano Bordon, the goalkeeper coach, and told him: ‘Ivano, get [goalkeeper Antonio] Chimenti to warm up and play. I’m not feeling up to it.’

“I had suffered a panic attack and was in no state to play the match.

“If I had not gone through this experience, that cloud and that turmoil with other people, I may have never have got out of it.”