Portuguese fifth-tier side Os Belenenses are hoping to tempt iconic Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to join them at the end of the season with an offer including custard tarts and museum tickets. Buffon said he will leave Juve when his contract expires at the end of the season, but the 43-year-old has left the door open to continuing his career elsewhere. "We heard that you are looking for a new challenge and are receptive to listening to a 'crazy and stimulating' proposal," the Lisbon club wrote in an open letter. "Therefore, we decided to present you with something irresistible: how about moving to Lisbon and helping us to quickly return to our place in Portuguese football, the I Liga [top flight]?" The club promised to include in their contract offer tickets to various tourist attractions around the city, including an annual pass to the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. They also offer "a pack of six Pasteis de Belem [custard tarts] a week, one of the most popular specialities of Portuguese sweets, which you will certainly enjoy without tweaking your diet." Belenenses are one of Portugal’s oldest clubs, but split with Belenenses SAD in 2018 over a dispute and were forced to start again from the bottom of the Portuguese football structure. They have one Portuguese title to their name and three Portuguese Cups. They also tried to tempt Buffon by making a comparison with his first club Parma, who were sent to the fourth tier of Italian football in 2015 after going bankrupt. "Despite our rich history and being the fourth club with the most fans in Portugal, we are currently competing at the fifth national level. Do you remember the route your dear Parma took? Ours is somehow similar," they wrote. Considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Buffon won 10 Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia trophies with Juve, as well as achieving World Cup glory with Italy in 2006.
