Highlights

  • Gianluigi Buffon, one of the best goalkeepers in history, has retired from professional football after 28 years at the highest level.
  • Buffon had the opportunity to join Arsenal earlier in his career, but instead joined Juventus and achieved great success with the club.
  • Arsene Wenger, former Arsenal manager, has said that he tried to sign several world-class players including Buffon and Lionel Messi.

After 28 years of playing at the highest level, Gianluigi Buffon has decided to retire from professional football.

The shot-stopper confirmed the news on his social media platforms on Wednesday afternoon, and as per Italian football journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, he is expected to take up a role in the Italian national team.

Buffon was widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers to have ever played the game, making 1,151 appearances for club and country.

He is best known for his time at Juventus, where the 45-year-old won 10 Scudetti and multiple domestic cups too. He also lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006.

And there were individual awards to go along with the team silverware, with Buffon being crowned the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2003.

Buffon had the chance to join Arsenal

But the Italian’s career could have been very different had he made a different choice before signing for Juventus.

In 2017, Buffon revealed that while still at Parma as a young, talented goalkeeper, Arsene Wenger approached him and tried to get him to sign for Arsenal.

“From what I know, there have been three serious times when English clubs made an approach for me,” he said, as per the Mirror.

“Two of them were when I was a young player at Parma, and I know Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger asked about me – and then, when Manchester City was taken over, I know they approached Juventus.

“There are many reasons why none of the deals happened. Even though the Premier League is a special league, I have always wanted to stay loyal to Juventus.

“I have always been very successful here. I would not have changed anything.”

Buffon at Juventus

Wenger will forever be a legend for how he revolutionised the Gunners, taking just two years following his 1996 arrival to become the first foreign manager to win a Premier League and FA Cup double.

Over the next two decades, he turned Arsenal into a consistent threat and propelled them forward in the modern game, wrestling away total dominance from Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and famously going unbeaten to win the Premier League in 2003/04.

His legacy cannot be understated and his work as a manager can never be ignored. After all, there's a reason the Frenchman is referred to by so many as 'Le Professeur'.

Arsene Wenger

But just imagine how good Arsenal would have been under Wenger had they added Buffon to a squad which included the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira.

The question of, ‘imagine just how good Wenger’s Arsenal would have been if they had signed…’ has been asked on several occasions, with Wenger often revealing how he 'almost signed' some of the best players in the modern game while manager of the north London club.

In fact, the manager was so guilty of the 'almost signed' trick that you can make an XI out of the players that he said it about. So, we at GIVEMESPORT have done just that, building a joke of a team that would give the iconic Invincibles side a run for their money.

An XI of players that Wenger nearly signed for Arsenal

GK: Gianluigi Buffon

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus Turin looks on during the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus Turin and FC Barcelona.

We’ve already told you when Buffon was approached by Wenger, but just how good was the goalkeeper when Arsenal were in for him?

Still in his younger years, the Italian had made quite a name for himself at Parma, winning the Italian Cup in 1998/99 and the Super Cup the following season.

Buffon had also been crowned an under-21 European Champion with Italy in 1996 and had been named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time in 1999.

That was a sign of things to come. Buffon could have propelled Arsenal to even greater heights, pulling off impressive saves at Highbury and then the Emirates for many years.

Read More: Gianluigi Buffon retires: 10 saves that prove he was one of the best

RB: Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane

Wenger admitted in 2013 that he wanted to sign Varane after he was impressed by the young Frenchman while he played for Lens.

“He was at Lens and we might well have caught him there,” he told Eurosport, as per Football Espana. “You have to ask yourself why this player is not playing for Arsenal”

Arsenal didn't act on that supposed interest in 2011, though, leaving Real Madrid with a clear path to snap him up.

He went on to win four Champions Leagues and develop into one of the world's best defenders with Los Blancos, and he is now a key player for Arsenal’s Premier League rivals, Manchester United.

CB: Gerard Pique

Gerard Pique

One of several world-class stars that emerged from Barcelona's famed La Masia academy, Pique headed to England in 2004 but signed for United instead.

Wenger has since stated that when signing Fabregas from Barcelona, he also intended to sign Pique in the process as well as one other player who will feature later on in this list.

However, he only came away with the midfielder. At least that midfielder turned out to be half-decent.

CB: Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany celebrates a Man City win

It was Kompany's agent, Jacques Lichtenstein, who revealed that Wenger had kept tabs on a young Kompany following his breakthrough at Anderlecht.

“I had meetings with Emilio Butragueno at Real Madrid, the club leaders at Barcelona and by Arsene Wenger himself at Arsenal,” he told Sport Voetbal, per the Express.

“But heading to an absolute top club immediately was not the right solution because Vincent is someone who feels alone in an environment where he is not properly valued.”

With first team football a priority, a move failed to materialise, and Kompany instead joined German outfit Hamburg in 2006.

Wenger even turned down the chance to sign the defender in 2008, expressing that he did not need a defender during that transfer window.

Given what Kompany went on to accomplish at Manchester City though, maybe Arsene should have got him anyway…

LB: Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale walking while at Tottenham

Bale might have become one of the best wingers in the world during his time at Tottenham and then Real Madrid, but he takes the left-back spot because of his time at Southampton.

Wenger stated that he had been keeping tabs on the Welshman during his time at St Marys. Arsenal went ahead and signed Theo Walcott, but opted against signing Bale.

The manager later said in 2013 that they had enough cover in the position Bale was playing in at the time.

“We didn't take him as we had Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy and didn't want another left-back,” he told the Sun, via the Independent.

“I must confess it was a huge mistake as he can play in midfield. He struggled at the start at Tottenham, then they moved him to midfield and he has done exceptionally well.”

CM: Claude Makelele

Makelele sees off Diego Forlan

Wenger admitted in 2006 that he had been keeping an eye on Makelele while the midfielder was still at Nantes a decade before then.

But he would opt to sign Patrick Vieira that summer instead, with Makelele later moving on to Marseille, then to Spain with Celta Vigo and Real Madrid, before finally ending up in the Premier League with Chelsea.

The ball-winning midfield general was influential for the Blues during Jose Mourinho's first stint, lifting two Premier League titles while at Stamford Bridge between 2003 and 2008.

But perhaps he could've been strutting his stuff in north London had Wenger snapped him up before stardom.

CM: Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba in action for Man United

During his first stint at United as a youngster, Pogba grew frustrated at his lack of an opportunity to stake his claim in the first team and left for Juventus for free in 2012.

As he exploded into life for the Bianconeri, Wenger admitted in 2014 that he had tried to bring Pogba to Arsenal upon hearing of his availability. However, he conceded that Juventus had completed the deal too quickly for him to intervene.

“We tried to get him, but it was complicated,” he told beIN Sport, per the Mirror. “I was surprised to see Manchester let him go. We did not have the right to contact him.”

CM: Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure of Manchester City celebrates scoring

Completing what would be an exquisite midfield three is Toure, who Wenger never managed despite enjoying the exceptional service of his brother Kolo while at Arsenal.

A year after Kolo had impressed Wenger on trial, Yaya was given a chance to do the same in 2003 against Barnet.

However, Wenger wasn't convinced and passed up the opportunity to sign the young Ivorian, describing him as “completely average.”

How wrong he would turn out to be. Toure would go on to play 118 times for Barcelona, lifting two La Liga titles while at the Camp Nou.

And to rub even more salt into Wenger’s wounds, he became a three-time Premier League champion at Manchester City and a four-time African Footballer of the Year, underlining his status as one of the most impressive players in recent memory.

RW: Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi celebrates a Barcelona goal

Remember when we talked about a third player Wenger tried to pry away from La Masia along with Fabregas and Pique? Of course it was going to be Messi.

“To be honest when signing Cesc, we also contacted Messi and Pique,” Wenger stated during an appearance in Cesc Fabregas’ documentary, ‘Against The Odds,’ as per the Daily Mail.

“Pique in the end decided to go to Man United, Fabregas decided to join us, and Barcelona kept Messi of course! That's how it happened.”

It's not a surprise to think that the Frenchman was able to spot the potential of the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. But were Barcelona ever going to let him go? No chance. Don't lose sleep over it, Arsene.

ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action for Sweden.

While Toure had a trial and failed to impress, a young Ibrahimovic refused to even entertain the idea of partaking in one.

After posing with the Arsenal shirt and meeting with Wenger ahead of a potential transfer, the plug was pulled as Ibrahimovic wasn't interested in doing a trial first.

“I didn't have a trial - I came for talks with Arsenal,” the striker told News of the World, via Sky Sports.

“But Wenger wanted me to do a trial and I said: 'I don't do trials. You know who I am.”

The Swede moved to Ajax shortly after the move to north London collapsed, going on to establish himself as one of the finest forwards in the game in the Netherlands, then Italy, and France too, scoring a club career total of 496 goals.

LW: Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Man United

Not only did Wenger try to sign Messi, but he also tried to sign his rival, Ronaldo. Just picture the two of them lining up at the Emirates as part of the same team.

The French manager revealed that the Portuguese legend had come close to signing on the dotted line while he was still at Sporting Lisbon, only for United to come in and ruin everything.

“The obvious player [Arsenal missed out on] that comes to mind is Ronaldo,” he told the club’s media, via the Guardian.

“He was here with his mother and we were very close. Then Man United came in and they had Carlos Queiroz at the time, who was their coach. United played against Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo was outstanding and they signed him.”

Ronaldo would go on to excel for United, crucially scoring twice against the Gunners during the Champions League semi-final in 2009.

How different things might have been had he moved to London instead of Manchester all those years ago.

XI of players Arsene Wenger nearly signed for Arsenal.