The goalkeeping situation at FC Barcelona has been rather peculiar this season. The Catalans started this season with Marc-André ter Stegen, but the German suffered a torn patellar tendon which is set to keep him out of action for the rest of the season.
In his absence, Iñaki Peña was the designated replacement for the Blaugrana captain between the sticks, but as the team did not have any other goalkeeper with any considerable experience playing at the highest level, they decided to incorporate Wojciech Szczęsny right after Ter Stegen’s injury to keep the goalkeeping spot competitive and well-covered.
However, the Pole was not the only option under consideration for this purpose, as another highly experienced goalkeeper who has played a lot of games in La Liga, Tomáš Vaclík, was also being considered by Barcelona after the German shot-stopper’s injury.
As SPORT has reported, the Czech shot-stopper himself revealed that he was one of the options on the Catalans’ agenda as he appeared in an interview. Talking about the operation, the former Sevilla goalie said:
“I was following this situation all the time because I was also considered for a transfer to Barcelona as a replacement for Ter Stegen. In the end, they chose Szczęsny.”
But instead of being envious of the Pole, Vaclík went on to praise him for the high standards he showed during his career and also more recently with Barcelona:
“Szczęsny was the number one goalkeeper for Juventus for many years and one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Suddenly, they told him that he was no longer part of the project, so he decided to retire and was on vacation in Marbella… This is a great moment for him. He won the Super Cup and played several matches.”

While the Blaugranes ultimately decided to bet on Szczęsny, Vaclík would doubtlessly have been another interesting option, mainly because of his experience playing in La Liga and his ability to communicate in Spanish. But for now, Szczęsny and Peña will continue to protect the Barcelona goal for the rest of the season.