The starting FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is expected to miss the rest of the season because of his torn patellar tendon of the right leg. The shot-stopper has already undergone surgery and will now remain on the sidelines for the upcoming seven to eight months.
The Catalans have decided to get a short-term replacement for him, as FIFA and La Liga regulations allow them to sign an unemployed player in these circumstances even outside of the normal transfer windows.
For this purpose, two of the more notable names linked with Barcelona have been the former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas and the former Juventus and Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The case of the latter is quite interesting, as he had hung up his gloves last summer. He was the starting goalkeeper at Juventus and also started for Poland in the UEFA EURO 2024, but decided to retire from football despite having another year on his contract with the Italian side.
Mundo Deportivo has outlined the main reason for his retirement in a recent report. The report mentions that the player had received several offers to keep playing at the highest level, but as the player had himself disclosed in the social media post announcing his retirement, he took this decision to focus more on his family life.
A part of this statement went as follows:
“Today, although my body still feels ready for challenges, my heart is not there anymore. I feel that right now it is time to give all of my attention to my family – my amazing wife Marina and our two beautiful children Liam and Noelia.”
Thus, it is clear that it was not for any physical issue that the Pole had decided to retire. The emotional barrier also seems to be surmountable for Barcelona as the goalkeeper has reportedly agreed to play for the Catalans after Ter Stegen’s injury. Thus, Szczesny coming out of retirement and playing for Barcelona in the coming days would not be a surprise.
