- Szczesny agreed to sign for Barcelona just 36 days after announcing his retirement
- The Polish stopper and Ronaldo played together for three seasons at Juventus
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Cristiano Ronaldo and Wojciech Szczesny shared a joke at the expense of their former club Juventus during a touching reunion on Saturday night.
The Portuguese legend scored his 133rd international goal as Portugal beat Poland 3-1 in the Nations League clash at the National Stadium in Warsaw. In the match, Szczesny and Grzegorz Krychowiak also officially said goodbye to the national team.
The Polish goalkeeper had ended his career in August following his departure from Juventus before hastily reversing his decision when Barcelona needed an experienced goalkeeper following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending injury.
During a meeting between Ronaldo and Szczesny, who spent three years together in Turin, the two took aim at their former employer.
“You had to retire to join a big club,” Ronaldo can be heard telling Szczesny, in a clip that later appeared on unknown.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Wojciech Szczesny shared a joke at the expense of their former club
Ronaldo extended his remarkable international scoring record with his 133rd goal in Portugal’s victory over Poland.
Szczesny and Grzegorz Krychowiak officially said goodbye to the Poland national team on Saturday night
Szczesny lifted three Serie A titles and three Coppa Italia trophies with the Turin giants after playing for Brentford, Arsenal and Roma. With Arsenal he won the FA Cup twice.
He also racked up 84 caps for Poland in an international career that spanned from 2009 to 2024, playing in four European Championships and two World Cups.
Barcelona’s options to bring in a replacement were limited after an earlier ruling decided clubs could no longer sign a player from another club, as they did in the case of Leganes’ Martin Braithwaite in 2020.
Szczesny was among a list of names to fill the gap between places in the LaLiga and Champions League competitions, as well as former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, 37.
The club can pay him up to 80 per cent of Ter Stegen’s £7.5m salary.
“I am very proud to be a Barcelona player,” he said in a short video after the announcement of his signing. ‘Visca el Barça (long live Barça!)’.
Szczesny’s retirement lasted just 36 days after completing his move to Barcelona, who were in need of an experienced goalkeeper.
Szczesny is set to make his debut for the Catalan club when the domestic calendar resumes this weekend.
Barcelona host Sevilla at the Olympic Stadium before games against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in three days.
