Former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny candidly shared his thoughts on his departure from the Italian giants and his surprising move to Barcelona in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. The Polish shot-stopper, who made 252 appearances for Juventus between 2017 and 2024, expressed his surprise at both his own exit and that of his former teammate Danilo.
Reflecting on the recent changes at Juventus, Szczesny commented, “I couldn’t have expected the departure of a great player and a great leader. Dani is important within the locker room. But this is football, I didn’t expect Danilo’s exit either…”
The 34-year-old goalkeeper revealed the serendipitous circumstances that led to his move to Barcelona:
“I return to Marbella and my son asks to watch Barça, who are playing Villarreal. I watched my destiny unfold. Ter Stegen gets injured, and at the end of the match, Robert [Lewandowski] calls me from the locker room. I felt it was too exciting an opportunity to refuse. I came here without the expectation of playing.”
Szczesny also shared his thoughts on Juventus’ current situation under new manager Thiago Motta:
“I like the project, but it’s clear that when you change everything looking to the future, you end up sacrificing results in the first season. I really like Thiago Motta’s idea of football and how they’re playing, though it’s clear there have been a few too many draws. But many of them came at the end, with the team winning. It’s part of the growth of young players who need to learn – to use a term dear to Max Allegri – to manage games in important moments. This Juventus has great room for improvement and I’m sure it will return to being what it once was.”
The goalkeeper also had words of encouragement for his former teammate Dusan Vlahovic:
“Dusan is and will be a great striker, and I hope he will be at Juventus. He has an extraordinary ability to score goals. He can play the role that Zirkzee had at Bologna: he’s technically strong, he knows how to defend the ball.”
