Lippi: Don't retire yet Buffon

In an interview with 'Radio Rai', Lippi has advised the 39-year-old to continue playing for one more year.

He said: "If I could, I'd tell him to retire when he feels ready because I think that deep down, the appearance record in Serie A could interest him."

Buffon has made 629 Serie A appearances for Juventus and Parma since 1995 but the Italian's one season in Serie B may hamper his chances of holding the record, if he were to retire at the end of this season.

Paolo Maldini is currently the most-capped player with 647 Italian league appearances for AC Milan between 1984 and 2009. 

However, with only 17 league games left the shot-stopper would fall an agonising two short of breaking that figure.

Buffon has made 666 league appearances in total, however, Juventus spent the 2006/7 season in Serie B which means that 37 of those games fail to count towards the record.