After a week filled with speculations, FC Barcelona finally announced the signing of Wojciech Szczesny earlier today, with the goalkeeper arriving as an emergency replacement for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The 34-year-old shot-stopper was convinced to come out of retirement to join Barcelona and has signed a short-term contract until the end of the current season.
Szczesny on whether he will be the first-choice goalkeeper
Before the transfer was finalised, a lot of speculations floated around claiming that Szczesny had set a condition that he would join Barcelona only if he would be the regular starter ahead of Inaki Pena.
However, the 34-year-old dismissed those notions during an interview with Foot Truck (h/t SPORT) today, stating that he is only there to help the team and is not worried about whether he will be the first-choice or the backup.
“I have no guarantee that I will be number one in goal. I’m not number one today. And I won’t be number one next week either because I still need some time,” he said.
Continuing, the former Poland international added: “In football, there are no guarantees to play in the first team. First, you have to fight for a starting place, and then you have to keep it.”
Szczesny also confirmed that he had held no conversations about his role with manager Hansi Flick as of yet, saying:
“I haven’t had any conversations with Hansi Flick about my role in the team. Barça just told me clearly that they need my help, and I think I can help them. That’s the end of it.”
Szczesny came out of retirement to sign for Barcelona. (Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona official website)
The veteran goalkeeper made it clear that he wants no misunderstandings about his true role in the Barça dressing room and that he is there to support Inaki Pena.
“Barça asked me to help them and I will do it, but the coach will decide if my experience will be on or off the pitch,” he…
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/szczesny-addresses-his-role-at-barcelona-and-inaki-pena-competition-there-are-no-guarantees/
Author : Michel Durant
Publish date : 2024-10-02 18:20:47
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