Former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny is reportedly coming out of retirement to join Barcelona. The Catalan club are in need of a goalkeeper following an injury to their starting keeper, Marc-André ter Stegen.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported on Wednesday that Szczęsny is set to come out of retirement to sign with Barça, where he will take over from ter Stegen on a one-year contract.
Regarding compensation, SPORT has reported that Juventus are set to receive a payout because Szczęsny has chosen to come out of retirement. If he signs with Barcelona, he will owe Juventus €2 million.
Additionally, the report states that the 34-year-old received a €6 million payment to terminate his contract and retire earlier this summer.
Why did Wojciech Szczęsny decide to join Barcelona?
Former player Stefano Sorrentino recently spoke to Tutti Convocati about the potential arrival of Szczęsny to the Spanish side to fill the No. 1 goalkeeper role.
"Reliable sources say that Szczesny was training until recently," Sorrentino said (h/t TuttoJuve). "To avoid any awkward situations, he decided to stop when he didn't find anything, even if he didn't really want to. But if an offer from Barcelona comes in, it's only natural that it reignites his passion."
Szczęsny announced his retirement in August after an impressive eight-year stint with Juventus, during which he made 252 appearances and kept 103 clean sheets.
It will be interesting to see whether not having a preseason and having asked to jump on a moving train will affect the veteran's form. Training is one thing, but once the live action starts it's another situation.
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