Wojciech Szczesny makes retirement U-turn, signs with Barcelona on one-year deal

BARCELONA — Spanish giants FC Barcelona have confirmed the signing of veteran goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who is coming out of retirement, on a one-year deal to replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen who is out with a long-term injury.

“It’s a proud moment. I was honestly prepared for retirement. I was happy in that situation but being here these first two days in the city and seeing how people have treated me and how important it is to them has made me feel proud and part of this exciting family,” said the goalkeeper to FCB’s media team.

The Polish keeper comes to the Club in unusual circumstances but there is no doubt that his CV speaks for itself. During his career, which appeared to have come to an end in the summer, he has played at top clubs such as Arsenal, Roma and Juventus since leaving his hometown of Warsaw at the age of 16.

In London, with Arsenal, following a loan spell with Brentford, Szczęsny established himself as the number one GK and won two FA Cups and a Community Shield with the Gunners.

From the Premier League, he made the move to Italy and AS Roma, consolidating his reputation as one of the most consistent goalkeepers in European Football. From the capital, he then moved to Juventus to replace the departing legend Gianluigi Buffon between the posts.

In total, he has made more than 500 appearances as a professional, 75 of which have been in the Champions League. With the Polish international side, he has won 84 caps, featuring in two World Cups and four European Championships.

The 34-year-old further went on to reveal that it was his Polish and now Barcelona teammate Robert Lewandowski who played a huge role in making him consider this move.

“He was the first person who called me to look into the possibility of this happening because I was retired. At first, I was not prepared for new challenges but I spoke to my family and friends and they all told me that it would be a mistake not to accept this. For this reason, Robert played a very important role because he was the person who had the idea to convince me,” he added.