Szczesny explains his return from retirement: “You don’t say no to Barcelona” | OneFootball

Former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny reveals the reasons that instigated his return to action after announcing his retirement a couple of months ago.

The 34-year-old decided to call it a day after rescinding his contract with the Bianconeri who honored him with an emotional farewell a few weeks ago.

But aftewards, the Pole received a call from Barcelona who were desperate for a new goalkeeper following Marc Ter Stegen’s season-ending injury.

Therefore, Szczesny decided to make a turnaround and put his gloves back on.

The goalkeeper insists that one doesn’t simply say no to the Catalan giants, unless he lacks the courage.

“I couldn’t imagine saying yes to any challenge, but when the phone rings and it’s all up to you, then have to make a decision,” said the former Bianconeri star in his interview with Sport via JuventusNews24.

“You can think, imagine, plan… but the proposal is there and you ask yourself: ‘Can I say no to Barça?’ And the answer is that you can’t say ‘no’.

“If you say ‘no’ to a club like that, it means you don’t have the b***s or you don’t have enough courage for a challenge like this.

“I think I still have the same passion inside me as always, and that I’m still at a level where I can be useful and help the team, That’s why I accepted.”

Szczesny also reveals he would have been happy to leave the sport, but didn’t want to turn down this opportunity.

“I was happy and enjoying my retirement, but being happy is not enough in life.

“It’s nice, you feel good, but when you sense the challenge, when you feel like you want to push yourself into something extraordinary, something that people will remember, then motivation prevails.”

The custodian had stints at Arsenal and Roma before joining Juventus in 2017. He became a regular starter following Gianluigi Buffon’s original departure in 2018.