At the end of August, Wojciech Szczęsny ended his football career. He lasted just over a month in retirement. In unusual circumstances, he joined FC Barcelona, which immediately needed a goalkeeper after the injury of Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The winner was the 84-time representative of Poland. At the beginning of October, Szczęsny signed a contract with the Catalan club, and is currently working to win a place in the starting lineup for the next matches.
Szczęsny attacked by a famous journalist. This could hurt
It has long been known that the 34-year-old likes to smoke a cigarette recreationally from time to time to reduce tension. Even when I was playing for Arsenal, it was a big problem. In 2015, he was even caught smoking by Arsene Wenger, who removed him from the squad. The situation was completely different in Italy, where the Pole had much greater acceptance for a “cigarette” after the match.
When Wojciech Szczęsny came to Barcelona, the Spanish quickly found out information about his tendency to smoke. This topic was discussed in an interview for “Mundo Deportivo”. – These are things I don't change in my personal life and it's nobody's business if I smoke. It doesn't affect me. I work twice as hard on the pitch. I don't smoke around my children, so I don't have a bad influence on them. Sometimes someone takes a photo of me, hiding behind trees where I can't see them – he explained in his own style.
Despite this, some fans use the Polish goalkeeper's “addiction” to mock or taunt him. It turns out that this group also includes… journalists! Recently, the well-known expert and reporter Tancredi Palmeri decided to put a finger on the 34-year-old. On profile X, the “SportItalia” correspondent and CNN journalist shared a photo of football socks hiding… a pack of cigarettes! “Everything is ready for Szczęsny's debut in Barcelona,” he added ironically in the description.
– I try to hide it and not show it to people. If someone thinks that I will change the way I am in my personal life, it will not be so, because I am the way I am. I've been like this all my life and no one cares about these things. I want to be judged as a goalkeeper, not by looking for stories that no one really cares about, added Szczęsny in the above-mentioned conversation with the Spanish media. If the former national team player meets expectations on the pitch, surely no one will blame him for his little pleasure in the form of cigarette smoke.