The training ground duel between Barça goalkeepers Joan García and Szczesny is something you won’t see during matches—yet they give it their all in practice.
Szczesny has once again poked fun at his unique situation at Barcelona. After clinching the La Liga title, he couldn’t resist joking about the achievement: “I think I’ve already broken the Guinness World Record for the player with the most trophies after retiring. I’m really happy about it. I’ve got five now, and I’d love to reach nine. I still need four more in my final season.” His comments made it clear that he intends to continue wearing the Barça shirt.
The Polish goalkeeper admitted he experienced this title differently: “The emotions are the same whether you play or not. You’re happy when you win, sad when you lose, and incredibly thrilled with every trophy. The adrenaline rush is something else, but I’ve had plenty of that in my life, so I’m really enjoying the last two years of my career as a fan, not as a protagonist.”
Szczesny has always been open about accepting his role as the second-choice keeper at Barça—and he does so gladly. His mission is to help and, above all, to push Joan García to grow even more between the posts. The Pole has never hidden his admiration for the current first-choice goalkeeper, but now his praise has reached new heights:
“Barça’s goal is in very safe hands. It’s strange and makes me realize something: this is the first time I’ve played with a goalkeeper who is much better than me. Alisson? He was great, but he wasn’t at the level he reached later. Joan García is completely different,” he said on ‘Eleven Sports’.
He made it clear that he is open to staying on to support the man he believes will become the best goalkeeper in the world: “On one hand, it’s a bit unfair to Joan García. Clearly, I’m no longer at the European elite level I was used to in my earlier career. On the other hand, it’s much easier for me to accept that someone is simply much better. My job is to support him, not to compete with him,” he stated.
Szczesny also joked about his well-known smoking habit: “My mouth is a little dry now. I haven’t had any nicotine since the break, so it’s been about two and a half hours. A friend’s company gave me a cigar specially for this occasion—it’ll be a lot of fun.”
The goalkeeper has one more year left on his contract with Barça, and he plans to continue as long as the club approves. However, Barça could terminate his deal this year by paying a compensation fee of around two million euros, a decision that sporting directors and Hansi Flick will have to make in the coming days. Another option is to sign Real Sociedad’s Remiro, who is willing to accept a backup role and represents a market opportunity. Much will depend on Barça’s salary cap.
The goalkeeping position is complicated because Barça will bring back Ter Stegen and Iñaki Peña, both currently on loan until June, and will need to decide their futures. In principle, neither is in the plans, but it remains to be seen whether they will have an exit in the next transfer window.
