Veteran goalkeeper confirms Barcelona interest in him before Wojciech Szczesny signing

Barcelona were dealt a major blow in September last year when they lost captain and first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a serious injury.

The German international was ruled out for potentially the entire season, leading to concerns within the club about the goalkeeping position.

While Inaki Pena was trusted to fill in for the club captain, Barça decided to make an emergency signing to add a more experienced shot-stopper to the squad.

And, after studying various options, they ended up convincing former Juventus and Arsenal star Wojciech Szczesny to come out of retirement and sign for the rest of the season.

Tomas Vaclik reveals Barcelona were interested

Now, former Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, who has been a free agent since last summer, has revealed that Barcelona were interested in him as well but ended up signing Szczesny.

The fact that he had played in La Liga and had command over the Spanish language counted in Vaclik’s favour but in the end, it was the 34-year-old Pole who was signed.

In an interview with TVP Sport (h/t SPORT), the 35-year-old, who was Albacete last season before becoming a free agent, recalled:

“I was following this situation all the time because I was also considered for a transfer to Barcelona to replace Ter Stegen. In the end, they chose Szczesny.”

Szczesny made his Barcelona debut earlier this month in a cup tie and has since gone on to play four matches, although his most recent outing against Benfica was one to forget as he made two huge errors that hurt the team.

Despite that, Vaclik was full of praise for the 34-year-old, highlighting his experience at the top level as an asset.

“Szczesny was the number one at Juventus for many years and one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Suddenly, they told him he was no longer part of the project, he decided to retire, and was on vacation in Marbella,” he pointed out.

“This is a great moment for him. He won the Super Cup and played several games,” added Vaclik.

The Czech goalkeeper also did not hesitate to comment on Robert Lewandowski’s performance at Barça, as he said:

“He continues to show he is still a world-class forward.”