‘I played my first season for free’

BARCELONA ace Wojciech Szczesny revealed he practically played for free on his debut season with the club.

Szczesny, 35, retired from the game in August 2024 but made a shocking U-turn less than a month later when he accepted Barca’s offer.

The Blaugrana were desperately looking for a goalkeeper to replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen following a shock knee injury and the ex-Arsenal ace agreed to step in.

The former Poland international revealed all of his income during his first year at Barcelona was paid to his former club Juventus.

The keeper’s annual salary added up as the exact amount he had to reimburse Juve for terminating his contract early two years ago.

Szczesny told the Polish edition of GQ: “It wasn’t that football no longer excited me.

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“I just wasn’t passionate about the options I had, even though the ten biggest clubs were sending offers.

“It wasn’t about raising my market value. I didn’t want to keep playing just for money. My intuition told me to say no.

“Three days before announcing my retirement, I spoke to Robert Lewandowski and told him I didn’t want to play for any club again. When Barcelona called, he probably suspected he could persuade me.

“I played my entire first season for free. What I received from Barca was exactly the amount I had to repay Juventus for terminating my contract early.”

Szczesny also opened up about a nagging injury he has been dealing with since 2008 when he played for Arsenal.

The ex-Juventus star hurt both his forearms during a gym session and revealed it was so bad they got paralysed by the pain.

Szczesny added: “During training, there comes a point when I completely lose feeling in my hands and can’t even hold a water bottle because of the pain.

“Then the coaches and I joke that the session is over because I’m ‘paralysed again’, but the truth is I’m exhausted from this suffering.

“It’s hardest during pre-season, in the most demanding sessions. During the season it’s easier — you train twice, then you play, so your hands get some rest and the pain eases. It spreads from the wrist to the elbow,”