Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Juventus star Gianluigi Buffon to end ownership of hometown club Carrarese

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will end his investment in Italian third-division club Carrarese, saying he feels he has been fighting a losing battle at his hometown club.

Buffon, 37, has been the owner of Carrarese since 2012, but after three years of pumping his own money into the side, he says it is time to call it a day.

At the end of the current season, he will be leaving the club to resolve their future alone -- a situation he feels he has been in ever since taking control.

"I'm disappointed," Buffon said in quotes reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. "June 30 will be my final day as owner."

Carrarese finished the season in 12th and Buffon no longer sees a future for them any higher than at their current level, saying: "I wanted to wait until the end of the season before summarising this experience, and I've decided I'm leaving Carrarese.

"What I did here was a gesture of love which was never repaid. This decision has matured over the course of this year.

"It's very difficult to carry on playing football on a professional level in this situation, which has been going on for three years. Both the city and the mayor have been aware of my thoughts for a while.

"I'm disappointed and upset. At this moment in time, I do not think there are the conditions for this city to support a football club in an important league such as the third division."

Buffon claims he has done all he could possibly have done to guarantee the club's future, but that the time has now come for him to end his involvement.

"Twice in the past five years I have chosen to be part of two groups who were keen on lifting Carrarese's fortunes," Buffon continued. "The first group fell apart after two years, leaving me on my own. The second, despite the promises, never even materialised.

"On both occasions, I found myself left on my own and with the responsibility in deciding whether to declare the club bankrupt or guarantee them a future through the involvement of my family.

"I always opted to invest, aware that it was only going to be a decision based on affection and not on business.

"Maybe we all now should take a period of reflection -- the city, local businessmen and the fans -- to understand whether there really is enough interest to have a club who represents us in the third division."

In the meantime, Buffon has more pressing thoughts. He will play in his second Champions League final on June 6, hoping for a better outcome than his first back in 2003, when he was on the losing Juventus side to AC Milan.

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