“I believe in Thiago Motta” – Former Juventus star offers support despite being pushed out | OneFootball

Juventus and Thiago Motta have received some words of encouragement from the ever-so-classy Wojciech Szczesny.

The Polish goalkeeper spent a seven-year spell in Turin. He first arrived at the club in the summer of 2017 and then became a regular starter a year later following Gianluigi Buffon’s initial departure.

The 34-year-old was one of the club’s most consistent performers in recent seasons, rising to the club’s rescue on several occasions. However, he didn’t have a place in the new project led by Cristiano Giuntoli and Motta.

The management decided that Szcesny’s yearly salary of 6.5 million euros was too hefty for the current financial parameters, so they decided to replace him with the younger Michele Di Gregorio.

The experienced shot-stopper could have scuppered the club’s plans by refusing to walk and see out his contract from the sidelines, but instead agreed to terminate his contract. The former Arsenal man then decided to retire before making a U-turn shortly afterwards, signing for Barcelona following Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s season-ending injury.

But despite being omitted from the club’s plans, Szczesny still identified himself as a fan of Juventus and a firm believer in Motta’s project.

“I’m disappointed with Juve’s cup eliminations, it was a difficult moment but I believe in the Thiago Motta project,” said Szczesny in his interview with Sky Sport Italia (via IlBianconero) after helping 10-man Barca beat Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

“It’s normal that these large changes can lead to such consequences, but I’m a big fan and I believe that this project will eventually bear great results.”

The goalkeeper also remains coy on his future, opening up to the possobility of playing beyond the current campaign.

“It’s not the right time to talk about the renewal. We’ll sit down with the director to talk about it, but now I don’t want to waste energy planning my future.”