Gigi Buffon reveals he promised to quit football this season if he kept a clean sheet against Barcelona over two legs.

The veteran keeper kept 2 clean sheets in the two-legged Champions League tie but was convinced to go back on his pledge by Juventus management.

“I had promised to quit football at the end of the season if I kept a clean sheet against Barcelona over two legs,” Buffon told Sky Sport Italia.

“I told the President and he said at times in life we say stupid things, not to worry and move on. So I had to take the promise back. The President has more experience than me and gave me good advice.

“Keeping a clean sheet against the Spaniards was very satisfying, because it was earned and shared with the group, with the lads in defence and all the others who ran their socks off to ensure we came away unharmed from those two games.

“The match against Atalanta shows us that you can’t take anything for granted or let anything go when it comes to focus, because otherwise you will pay a heavy price. That is the glass-half-empty way of seeing it.

“On the other hand, the glass-half-full way is that, despite having a poor approach in the first half, we still came closer to winning this game than we did to losing it. That says a lot about our quality.

“The 2-2 result isn’t setting off any alarm bells and if anything will do us good going forward. A victory might’ve made us feel we could do without those characteristics we need for tough games.

“If you don’t put in the effort that the match demands, that ferocity, determination and unity of intent, then you’ll struggle against anyone.”