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Just a couple of weeks ago before the calendar went from January to February, we got word that Andrea Barzagli and Juventus weren't done being one in the same. By that, I mean Barzagli, a free agent at season's end because his contract tells us so, was going to sign a contract extension and it was only a matter of time before it did take place.
Well, it's February, and said contract extension hasn't taken place just yet.
But, according to the same Gazzetta dello Sport that reported the first go-around of contract extension news, that doesn't mean it's suddenly not happening.
The Gazzetta (via Twitter) has reiterated — as well as Tuttosport (via Football Italia) — its January report that Barzagli will be signing a two-year contract extension that will run through the 2017-18 season and likely see the Italian defender retire in bianconero. How much of this has to do with Barzagli's colossus of a game against Napoli on Saturday night is anybody's best guess, but it's just another sign that it's not a matter of if he will sign a contract extension, but rather when we'll see him posing for a picture with Andrea Agnelli or Beppe Marotta in Juve's trophy room.
No matter if it happens two days from now, two weeks from now or in the next couple of months, Barzagli signing on is just another piece of good news to come our way. The Napoli win was just the latest example of how Barzagli, at 34 years old, is still fully capable of being amongst the best in the business and a player Juventus can rely on going forward.
Not bad for a guy that Juve paid such a tiny transfer fee for, huh?
Buffon to Marotta in 2011 "Barzagli? Director, sign him straight away, no joke. Best Italian CB at the moment & an exceptional professional"
— Tarek Khatib (@ADP1113) February 15, 2016
So, when San Gigi speaks, we all — including Marotta himself — should listen. Not that we didn't know that already, but it's just good to remind all of you every once in a while. You know, just in case something happens.