Wojciech Szczesny’s future at Barcelona has been the subject of growing interest in recent months, especially given that the veteran goalkeeper has retired from professional football before returning to action.
Despite the uncertainty, Szczesny has now made his intentions very clear ahead of next season.
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The Polish goalkeeper has one year left on his current contract with Barcelona and he confirmed in an interview with Eleven Sports that he wants to continue playing football and remains fully committed to the club.
“I’m old enough to understand that every year there’s speculation about whether I can still play and whether I still want to play.
“I still want to play, I can still play, so I think we will talk a few more times after this El Clasico.” he said.
The veteran goalkeeper also spoke about the role he plays in the Barcelona dressing room, beyond just his performance on the pitch.
Szczesny explained that maintaining a positive atmosphere and helping young players cope with pressure are things he values at this stage of his career.
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“I realized that even if I wasn’t on the field helping, I had to find a way to help the guys who were playing.
“Oftentimes a good atmosphere helps – a smile, a little stress relief – but also sets a good example in training. The people responsible for creating the atmosphere are not just there for that.
“I feel pressure to perform at the level of the rest of the team. If that helps, all the better. That’s what I’m doing.”
University College London Knockout Round
Szczesny talked about the elimination of University College London. (Photo by Dennis Doyle/Getty Images)
The Barcelona goalkeeper also reflected honestly on the club’s disappointing elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid, admitting the team ultimately paid the price for their mistakes at crucial moments.
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Discussing the knockout rounds, Szczesny said: “That’s football, especially in the knockout stages: you can be eliminated in one game.
“This year, two of those games knocked us out of two tournaments. So we lost two championships.
“But I think it’s both cruel and fair because no one cheated us.
“We had two bad games ourselves, so we lost the chance to win the championship.”
best player in the world
Attention has also turned to the debate surrounding the best players in world football today, with Szczesny mentioning Michael Olise and Lamine Yamar when discussing the players currently standing out.
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Speaking on this topic, Szczesny said: “I think there are a few candidates right now.
“The perspective is a bit different too because the Champions League is still going on and we are not participating and neither is Lamin.
“But I think Michael Ollis has done really well this season. Laming put on a great performance and I think that’s the value he brings to football.
“Because of him, people fell in love with football and came to watch great games and not just watch their favorite team play, so there’s certainly a lot of value in that.”
Thoughts on Hans Flick
Szczesny believes Flick can lead Barcelona to win the Champions League. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
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The experienced goalkeeper has also backed Hansi Flick to finally lead Barcelona back to Champions League glory.
Discussing Flick’s ambitions at the club, Szczesny said: “Hans already won the Champions League, but not with Barcelona.
“You can tell he is desperate to be the manager who brings the Champions League back to Barcelona and he has the squad to do that.
“I think whether Hansi will succeed in doing it in the next few years or someone else will succeed later on.
“The current Barcelona squad ensures fierce competition for many years to come, so Barcelona will always be one of the favourites.”
Finally, Szczesny ended the interview with a humorous answer when asked about Robert Lewandowski and the possibility of a move to Juventus.
“If I were giving him advice based on my experience, I would tell him to retire because that’s when the best offers will come his way.” he concluded.
Source: Sports