Report – The ‘secret’ clause posing a hurdle in Barcelona’s efforts to sign ex-Arsenal star

As has already been confirmed by multiple reliable outlets, FC Barcelona are trying to sign Wojciech Szczesny as a replacement for their injured first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

After careful consideration and assessment of all options, Barça have narrowed in on the 34-year-old Polish custodian, who announced his retirement from football this past summer after bringing an end to his career at Juventus.

The Blaugrana have made contact with Szczesny and his camp about a return from retirement – an option he is seriously considering.

But there is a minor hurdle that needs to be crossed before the move can be finalised, reports SPORT.

Szczesny and Juventus’ secret clause

As per the report, Szczesny and Juventus agreed upon a ‘secret’ clause this summer when he left the club and retired that the Bianconeri would be paid a fee if he were to sign for a top-level team within a stipulated period of time.

It was done because Szczesny still had a year left on his contract with Juventus when he decided to terminate it and announce his retirement.

“My body is still ready, but my heart is no longer in it,” the goalkeeper explained at the time.

As it was not a natural expiration of his contract, Juventus wanted to include a ‘small’ penalty in case Szczesny were to sign for a team in the coming months.

As such, Barça now need the goalkeeper to settle this clause with Juventus before proceeding with their efforts to reach an agreement with him.

It remains to be seen whether negotiations between the goalkeeper and Juve allow this clause to be voided or, on the contrary, the Pole has to end up paying it. In the latter case, it is also necessary to see if Barça may have to cover any portion of this payment.

Szczesny sees the move favourably

Despite having some conditions to join the club, Szczesny is understood to be seeing the opportunity to sign for Barcelona in favourable light. One of the conditions that the 34-year-old Pole has is that he wants to be a starter.

However, SPORT reports that the veteran understands that he might not earn a starting berth right away. But he is confident that given his experience and pedigree, he can become a starter once he returns to peak fitness.

At this point, there is no complete agreement between Szczesny and Barça, but he wants to say ‘yes’. However, he and Juventus must resolve the contractual issue before proceeding.