Szczesny opens up on how Barcelona revived his passion for football: ‘When I stopped, I didn’t want to play anymore’ | OneFootball

Wojciech Szczesny has opened up about the remarkable revival of his career at FC Barcelona, admitting that before joining the club he had completely lost his passion for football and believed his playing days were over.

The veteran Pole joined the Blaugrana in October 2024, coming out of retirement, after Marc-Andre ter Stegen was sidelined with a serious injury.

And, now, speaking to The Athletic, the 36-year-old goalkeeper reflected on how his move to the Catalan club transformed both his career and his enjoyment of the sport.

“When I stopped, I didn’t want to play football anymore,” he said. “I didn’t imagine anything happening after 2024. Now I’m living one of the best times of my career, and I’m loving every minute of it.”

The former Poland international revealed that, before Barcelona came calling, football had become something he no longer looked forward to.

“I kind of fell out of love with football. I didn’t enjoy playing anymore. I didn’t enjoy waking up for training,” he explained.

Barcelona changed everything

Szczesny explained that his departure from Juventus felt like the end of his professional career.

Szczensy came out of retirement to join Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

With one year remaining on his contract, the Italian club decided it could no longer continue with him, leading both parties to part ways.

The goalkeeper had no interest in starting over elsewhere, saying: “I was not ready for any challenge. I didn’t want to change countries, move clubs, find new schools for the kids and find a new place.

“It was an easy decision (to retire) for me and the family. Once you get to a certain point of your life, family actually comes before football.”

Opening up on how Barcelona’s offer changed things for him, he added: “When I really settled, and I was really happy at home in Marbella, then this opportunity came, and I think it was just too big not to take it.

“I hesitated for some time. It wasn’t a straightforward decision, but it was too big. In the end, I still love the challenge, and I’m still very ambitious.

“When an opportunity like that comes along, and you have the ambition in you, and you believe in yourself… even for your own ego, you want to test yourself, and you want to see what you can do at this level.”

The love for Barcelona and the fans

Reflecting on his journey so far with the Blaugrana, Szczesny said: “I was already a retired footballer, and now I get to live such a beautiful moment. I’m kind of one of the fans on the pitch.

“I made a conscious decision when I came back to football. I said to myself: ‘If I make this decision, I will enjoy it at 100 per cent.’”

Loving life with Barcelona. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Highlighting this stint as a ‘bonus’ in his career, he added: “I do treat it as a bonus to my career. I’m going to make the most of it — I’m gonna enjoy it the way that I like to enjoy it, and it seems authentic to people.

“I very much feel the love back as much as I fell in love with this place and with this football club.”

Since arriving, the Polish goalkeeper has become a fan favourite, with supporters even creating their own chant dedicated to him.

Rather than being embarrassed by the now-famous ‘Szczesny Fumador (the smoker)’ song, he embraces it.

“I’ve never had my own chant before, so that’s already a surprising thing,” he said. “I enjoyed it. I try to be as authentic as I can, and people seem to appreciate it.”

Following Buffon’s Example

The veteran also spoke about his relationship with Gianluigi Buffon during their time together at Juventus and revealed he hopes to play a similar mentoring role for Barcelona’s young goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

“I had Gigi (Buffon) as my No 2 at the end of his career, and I never felt challenged by him, so this might be a subconscious decision of mine because of what I was given by Gigi, I would want to give to Joan,” Szczesny explained.

“I wanted to make sure that he doesn’t feel challenged from my side,” he stated..

“My ambition is still there, and I still believe I can give a lot of good things to the team on the pitch, but I felt that it was important that in his first season at the top level he feels all the support in the world and not a challenge from my side.

“(I also want) to help him grow and give him a little advice in training.”

Enjoying being a mentor to Joan Garcia. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Although he acknowledges that Garcia is already a better goalkeeper than he is, Szczesny believes his experience still has value.

“When I see something that he can improve, it feels a little bit uncomfortable because he’s a better goalkeeper than me. But I see that he wants to learn; he wants to get new information,” the veteran remarked.

“Sometimes there are things that maybe I can tell him, although I can’t even do them anymore (laughs) because I’m not at his level, but I feel that my knowledge of the game is big and I can still help him. He’s willing to learn.”

“So hopefully when I finish playing, Joan will be able to appreciate me trying to help him and not challenge him,” he added.

Happy to contribute in any role

Szczesny said his decision to extend his stay at Barcelona was not driven solely by playing time but by the feeling that he still has an important role within the squad.

“I feel needed by the team, and I feel useful even when I don’t play. That’s why I decided to renew my contract and to stay until the end of the season,” he explained.

“It’s challenging because of the level that we have, and I want to make sure that I’m also at that level. It’s something that makes me proud of myself every time I finish training, and I feel that I can still do it.

“You don’t always have to be the No 1 on the pitch in order to be able to help the team and help them deal with certain situations because you have the experience. I’ve lived a lot of difficult moments, a lot of good moments.”

“So I can pass the experience on to younger players. It’s a good feeling,” he concluded.

For a player who thought his career had already ended, Barcelona has offered something even more valuable than another contract: the chance to fall in love with football again.