FC Barcelona has already begun to work on reinforcing their goalkeeping following the unfortunate injury of Marc-André ter Stegen. The Barcelona '1' suffered a complete rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee on Sunday, September 22nd in the Villarreal-Barça match (1-5), requiring corrective surgery.
According to various sources, it is expected that his recovery period will be between seven and eight months. Faced with this situation, Barcelona has decided not to rely solely on youth product Iñaki Peña in goal and is considering seeking an experienced goalkeeper in the free agent market.
An option gaining traction to strengthen the goal is Wojciech Szczesny, a 34-year-old veteran. This choice is unexpected not for his sporting abilities, but because the goalkeeper announced his retirement from football less than a month ago, concluding a career in which he amassed around 514 appearances at club level in the top flight (AS Roma, Arsenal, and Juventus) and 84 caps for the Polish national team.
The factor hindering Szczesny's arrival at FC Barcelona
Now, despite being a free agent and showing openness to a new adventure at FC Barcelona, there are certain obstacles. Apparently, there are contacts between the club and the player's agency, CAA Stellar, as reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano. However, a clause related to Szczesny's contract termination with Juventus on August 14 is slowing down his return to professional football with Barça.
When Szczesny terminated his contract with the 'Vecchia Signora,' which was valid until June 30, 2025, a clause was included stipulating that if he joins a top-level team before a certain deadline, the Pole must pay a sum to the Turin club. Although the amount is not significant, the Barcelona club hopes that the Warsaw native can resolve this situation to finalize his incorporation as soon as possible.
The outcome of this situation will depend on negotiations between Szczesny and Juventus, as well as the potential involvement of FC Barcelona in covering this payment. If an agreement is reached, this signing would bring experience to the Barcelona goalkeeping department. While not initially guaranteed a starting role, if he regains his peak physical and sporting form, it wouldn't be surprising to see him as the first-choice goalkeeper in the coming months, during Marc-André ter Stegen's recovery.