Wojciech Szczesny comes out of retirement to sign for Barcelona
Wojciech Szczesny comes out of retirement to sign for Barcelona. Former Arsenal & Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has come out of retirement to sign for FC Barcelona until the end of the season.
The former Poland international Szczesny, 34, announced his retirement on 27 August after his contract with Juventus was terminated.
Barca lost first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a serious knee injury in their 5-1 win against Villarreal last month, and he would be out for the remainder of the season.
However, La Liga regulations does permit clubs to sign free agents outside of the transfer window to replace players with injury lay-offs longer than four months.
Szczesny made 181 appearances for Arsenal during his time at North London, after joining as a 16-year-old, and also spent time at Brentford, Roma and Juventus.
Szczesny signed for Juventus in 2017 and made 252 appearances across his seven years in Turin, winning three Serie A titles, and three Coppa Italia during his time with the Old Lady.
The Warsaw-born player won 84 caps for Poland, representing them at six major tournaments, including four European Championships and two World Cups.
When he announced his retirement Szczesny said:
“Today, though my body still feels ready for challenges, my heart is not there any more.
I feel that right now it is time to give all of my attention to my family.”
However, due to the current situation of Barcelona in regards to their goalkeeping department, Szczesny has decided to come out of his retirement, sign for the Blaugrana till the summer of 2025. He could also make his debut against Alaves in La Liga on Sunday.
Announcing the arrival of the goalkeeper, a statement from FC Barcelona read:
“FC Barcelona and Wojciech Szczesny have reached an agreement for the goalkeeper to join the Club until 30 June 2025.”
The move sees Wojciech Szczesny link up again with international team-mate Robert Lewandowski and to also enjoy a new challenge in the Spanish top flight.
After signing for the La Liga giants, Szczesny had a few words for the fans;
“Hi, I am very proud to be a Barcelona player. Visca el Barça!”
“I feel a lot of pride in being part of this incredible family because, although it is a huge institution and a great football club, in these past few days, I have felt like part of that family, and that’s something very important to me,”
Barcelona suffered a 4-2 defeat to Osasuna last time out in La Liga, but remain top of the table with seven wins from eight games.
Also, Hansi Flick’s side would then go ahead to beat Young Boys 5-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
