Juventus' president Andrea Agnelli believes Gianluigi Buffon deserves to be the first keeper in 50 years to be awarded the Ballon d'Or.
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Agnelli feels that it would be fitting if the legendary goalkeeper was awarded the coveted title as an acknowledgement of his contribution to Italian and International football.
Buffon is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers to have played the game, and the president is hopeful the 34-year-old can wrest the award back from perennial champion Lionel Messi in the near future.
Were he to achieve this feat, he would become the first gloveman since Lev Yashin in 1963 to lift the prestigious award.
"History states that from 1978 until 2007, the Ballon d'Or was regularly won by players competing in Serie A," he told reporters.
"After this 30-year period, the trophy has subsequently been away from Italy for five years. My hope is that Gigi manages to halt the negative run by bringing it back in the next two years.
"Given that just one goalkeeper, [Lev] Yashin, has had the honour of lifting it, I think it would be a correct acknowledgment of what Gigi means to Juventus and the world of football as a whole."
The eight-time Italian Goalkeeper of the Year recently signed a new contract at Juve keeping him at the club he has represented on 422 occasions until June 2015.
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