Wojciech Szczesny, who came out of retirement in 2024 to help Barça after Ter Stegen’s injury, revealed in GQ that he played his entire first season for free.
Wojciech Szczesny really, really wanted to play for FC Barcelona. He paused his retirement… and was not paid. The goalkeeper explains that all of his salary from Barcelona went to reimburse a compensation owed to Juventus for breaking his contract early. A clause required him to compensate Juve if he signed quickly with a top-level club.
“I played my first season for free at FC Barcelona. What I received from Barça is exactly what I had to reimburse to Juve for breaking my contract early.”
From Savior to Mentor
In his contract, which expired on June 30, 2025, there was indeed a clause stating that if he signed with a top-level club within a certain timeframe, he had to pay financial compensation to the Italian club.
Drawn by the call of Barça when he no longer wanted to play “for anyone else,” Szczesny was the starter throughout the 2024-2025 season, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercup. Now a backup behind Joan Garcia, he takes on a mentoring role while remaining decisive when called upon, as seen with his penalty save against Mbappé during the Clasico.
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