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Szczesny joins Barcelona a month after retiring

Wojciech Szczesny made his Poland debut in 2009

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has joined Barcelona until the end of the season, just over a month since he retired.

Former Poland international Szczesny, 34, announced his retirement on 27 August after his contract with Juventus was terminated.

Barca lost first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a serious knee injury in their 5-1 win against Villarreal last month.

La Liga regulations permit clubs to sign free agents outside of the transfer window to replace players with injury lay-offs longer than four months.

Szczesny made 181 appearances for Arsenal after joining as a 16-year-old and also spent time at Brentford, Roma and Juventus.

He joined Juventus in 2017 and made 252 appearances across seven years in Turin, winning three Serie A titles and three Coppas Italia.

The Warsaw-born player won 84 caps for Poland, playing at four European Championships and two World Cups.

When he announced his retirement Szczesny said: “Today, though my body still feels ready for challenges, my heart is not there any more. I feel that right now it is time to give all of my attention to my family.”

Szczesny could make his debut against Alaves in La Liga on Sunday.

Barcelona suffered a 4-2 defeat by Osasuna on Saturday but remain top of the table with seven wins from eight games.

On Tuesday Hansi Flick’s side beat Young Boys 5-0 in the Champions League.

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