Szczesny kept his promise about Saudi Arabia with retirement decision | OneFootball

Szczesny kept his promise about Saudi Arabia with retirement decision | OneFootball

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·27 August 2024

Szczesny kept his promise about Saudi Arabia with retirement decision

Article image:Szczesny kept his promise about Saudi Arabia with retirement decision

Former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny kept his word when he said he ‘had enough money’ to reject a move to Saudi Arabia last summer, by deciding to retire instead of accepting a lucrative deal in the Middle East one year later.

Szczesny officially announced his retirement from professional football on Tuesday.


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The former Poland international’s future with the Bianconeri was cast under doubt following the arrival of Michele Di Gregorio from Monza earlier this summer. For the first time in six seasons, he was not guaranteed to be Juve’s first choice.

He reached a mutual agreement with the club to terminate his contract earlier this summer, which meant that he was able to negotiate with any club he wanted. There was always a chance that he was going to call it a day on his playing career, though.

Szczesny kept his word by rejecting Saudi offers

Szczesny has not been short of offers from the Saudi Pro League over the past 12 months. Reports last summer suggested he could move to the Middle East when Juventus were kicked out of European competitions last summer.

There were also reports earlier this summer that he had been offered an enormous €30m for a two-year deal with an unnamed Saudi Pro League club.

He was never likely to accept those offers though, as he has always maintained that he ‘has no shortage of money’ and would prefer to focus on ‘cool’ challenges instead.

“I have no shortage of money in my life. I prefer cool challenges and defending the Juventus goal is the coolest challenge I can give myself,” The recently retired goalkeeper said in an interview with TVP last summer.

“I know that I am and will be a Juventus player unless they don’t want me here. I am attached to this club and I respect their decisions.”

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