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One simple sentence on the Juventus website on Wednesday had the Italian media going all contract-extension-talk crazy. That happens when this is posted:
Juventus Football Club wishes to announce that Andrea Agnelli, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini will hold a press conference tomorrow, Thursday 20 November, at the Media Center in Vinovo from midday CET onwards.
Why?
Because they easily and/or smartly put 2 and 2 together. Buffon and Chiellini have been two of the handful of Juventus players who are anticipated to be on the brink of signing contract extensions. And when you call a press conference with the club president and those two players, then it's going to set the wheels in motion for all of the media folks to think what everybody else is thinking.
Tuttosport is saying it. The Gazzetta dello Sport is saying it. The Corriere dello Sport is saying it. SKY Sport Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio is saying. Basically every single major Italian football outlet is saying it.
You're not getting double confirmation. You're getting double, triple and quadruple confirmation that Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini will be announcing at Thursday press conference that they've signed new contracts to keep them in Turin for the next couple of years at the very least.
How long are said contract extensions for Buffon and Chiellini? Well, this is what Di Marzio said about it:
Juventus will announce tomorrow the extensions of Gigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini in a presser at noon. The centre-back will prolong his contract until 2018, while the goalkeeper through 2017. It shouldn't be the final contract for Buffon, since he plans to play beyond 2017.
I can dig that.
We all know that Buffon has his eyes on the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which would make him the first ever player to participate in six World Cups. And Chiellini, at the age of 30, obviously has plenty left in the tank — no matter how inconsistent he may be playing right now.
Contract extension season is in full force, folks. Just you wait until the next couple happen. Maybe we should start a pool and get some money riding on it.
