Juventus are preparing to welcome Norberto Neto back to Turin this weekend, nearly nine years and 3,401 days after his departure in 2017. The Brazilian goalkeeper returns to a club that has changed beyond recognition since his first spell: then, Juventus had just completed six consecutive Serie A titles and were regulars in the latter stages of Europe; now, they have gone six years without the Scudetto and need an experienced hand after an injury to Gregor Kobel Grabara.
Neto is expected to arrive as a free agent, having been without a club for three months, and his role will again be that of deputy goalkeeper. It is a very different proposition from the one he accepted in the summer of 2015, when Juventus signed him from Fiorentina without a transfer fee. After four strong seasons in Florence, where he had established himself among Serie A’s most promising young keepers, he came to Turin believing that time behind Gianluigi Buffon could eventually open a path to the starting shirt.
At his presentation, Neto spoke of identifying immediately with Juventus and promised to be ready whenever called upon, while hoping for a long stay. Behind those words was a clear sporting ambition: Buffon was already 37, and Neto expected that learning alongside him might allow him to compete for the position in the years ahead.
Buffon, however, was nowhere near the end. During Neto’s first season, the Juventus captain set Serie A’s unbeaten record for a goalkeeper, going 974 minutes without conceding. Neto made only 22 appearances across two campaigns, although he started in both Coppa Italia-winning runs. The hierarchy around Buffon never truly moved.
After leaving for Valencia in a deal worth €6 million, Neto made plain why he had sought a new challenge. He said there had been no real competition at Juventus and that he had not felt trusted, explaining that two years of waiting had drained his motivation. He never expected simply to displace Buffon, but felt his work and performances should have given him a realistic opportunity to prove he could start.
The succession eventually went another way. Wojciech Szczesny, after sharing responsibilities for a season, took over from Buffon and made the position his own. Neto instead built a career across several different environments, with long stretches as a first-choice goalkeeper at Valencia between 2017 and 2019, and later at Bournemouth from 2022 to 2024. He also won the Copa del Rey during his time in Spain.
There were elite supporting roles too: three seasons at Barcelona from 2019 to 2022, followed by a spell at Arsenal in 2024-25. Before the prospect of this return to Italy, Neto had gone back to Brazil for the previous year with Botafogo.
His final image from the first Juventus chapter remains an emblematic one: Cardiff in 2017, when the Bianconeri, fresh from another league-and-cup double, were beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League final. At 37, the same age Buffon was when Neto first arrived with thoughts of one day replacing him, he comes back without such demands. Juventus need cover and composure in an emergency, while Neto brings the perspective of a goalkeeper who has travelled widely since leaving Turin and understands the weight of the shirt waiting for him.
