Press reports have revealed that Polish Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski was the go-between who convinced his retired compatriot Wojciech Szczesny to replace injured goalkeeper Ter Stegen.
Barcelona’s sports administration has chosen former Juventus goalkeeper Szczesny to replace Ter Stegen until the end of the season.
The Catalan newspaper “Sport” reported that when looking for a replacement for the injured German goalkeeper, Lewandowski immediately thought of his former colleague, even though the former Juventus goalkeeper had retired from the game.
According to the Spanish journalist of Cadena Ser Joffrey Mateo, the call between Lewandowski and the goalkeeper was essential to know his intentions and for Barcelona to take the decisive step.
Szczesny told his friend Lewandowski that he was “comfortable with the current situation” and would not make any moves until he guaranteed that he would start matches.
Matteo added that the Polish goalkeeper, during the call, had set a condition to end all questions related to his transfer to Barcelona, and that the condition was his participation in the starting line-up, as he did not want to come out of retirement and join the Catalan team in order to sit on the bench.
❗️Robert Lewandowski is ready to convince Wojciech Szczesny to come out of retirement and join Barcelona.
— @sport pic.twitter.com/G0Bj28pDEW
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 24, 2024
Szczesny had announced his definitive retirement from football, before the end of his contract with Juventus, and his last participation was with Poland in the European Cup (Euro 2024).
The former Arsenal goalkeeper has agreed to terminate his contract with Juventus one year before it officially expires on June 30, 2025.
Szczesny has made 252 appearances for Juventus since joining from Roma for €18.4 million, keeping a clean sheet in 100 games and stopping nine shots on goal with a success rate of 73%.
He also won eight titles with Juventus, winning the league three times, the Italian Cup three times and the Italian Super Cup twice.