The secret decision of Barça that almost altered the future of their goalkeeping position

Wojciech Szczesny is becoming one of the great revelations of FC Barcelona in this second half of the season. The Polish player has transitioned from being an emergency solution after the serious injury of Ter Stegen to an important piece for Hansi Flick, establishing himself as the 'talisman' of the Catalan team as he remains undefeated in the 16 matches he has played and has kept his goal clean in 8 of those.

For this reason, the azulgrana entity has already communicated to him their desire to continue having him for at least one more year, an option that the '25' sees very positively. In fact, his agent confessed that "Tek is thrilled in Barcelona and Barça is very happy with Tek, so we will easily come to an agreement", so it is just a matter of time before the goalkeeper signs his continuity at the club.

However, the future of the azulgrana goal could have taken a completely different direction. After confirming the long-term absence of Ter Stegen, the Catalans explored various alternatives to replace him in goal, and Jordi Masip was one of them. The Sabadell native had already shared a locker room with the German and Claudio Bravo during the treble-winning season in 2015, and the culés considered his return to the club.

Masip could have been Ter Stegen's replacement at Barça

The goalkeeper, who hung up his gloves a week ago, was without a team at that time and the idea of retiring was on his mind. "My representatives have contact with someone from the club and asked about my situation. My availability was total for Barça", explained the La Masia graduate to 'Relevo'.

"If I had to go there, I had no problem, but I understood that they were looking for a goalkeeper with European experience, which I might not have had. It is true that I have been in the house, I have been there for many years, they know me and I know the house, but they opted for Szczesny and now he is really having very good matches", he added.

Masip spent three seasons in the first team but went practically unnoticed, having played only four matches. "I would have loved it, to be honest. It would have been a perfect way to close the circle, to end my career where I started and it would have been perfect, but well, I understand the reasons and I know it was very complicated", he concluded.

Finally, the sports management, led by Hansi Flick, ended up betting on the signing of Wojciech Szczesny and time has confirmed it as an absolute success. Since his debut against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey, the Pole remains unbeaten and has become one of the cornerstones of Barça, who still knows no defeat in 2025, earning his continuity at the club through hard work.