Szczęsny Has Shared the Pitch With Goalkeeping Legends

Wojciech Szczęsny has had one of the most unusual goalkeeping careers of his generation.

The Polish goalkeeper has played alongside and competed for starting places with some of the biggest names in modern football, including Alisson Becker and Gianluigi Buffon.

In 2019, Szczęsny joked about the situation during an interview with Polish newspaper Przegląd Sportowy.

“Recently I said that when I was back-up at Roma, it was to the best goalkeeper in the world, Alisson, who's now at Liverpool. Now at Juve my substitute is one of the greatest players in history,” he said.

“The conclusions are that I'm probably the best in the world and in history.”

The joke had some truth behind it. Szczęsny did start ahead of Alisson for periods at Roma, while he eventually became Juventus' first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Buffon after the Italian returned from Paris SaSaint-Germain.

His career then took an unexpected turn in 2024.

Szczęsny announced his retirement after leaving Juventus, but Barcelona's injury crisis changed everything. After Marc-André ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury, Barça convinced the Polish goalkeeper to return to football.

He went on to make 30 appearances during the 2024/25 season, keeping 14 clean sheets and helping Barcelona win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. The club rewarded him with a contract extension until June 2027.

Szczęsny's role has since changed again.

After Barcelona signed Joan García, the veteran accepted a backup role without complaint.

“I’m a substitute and, barring any surprises, I’ll remain so,” Szczęsny said. “My role this season is to prepare Joan García as best as possible for the matches.”

He also praised García's potential and said the young goalkeeper was already among Europe's best physically.

From competing with Alisson and Buffon to returning from retirement and helping a young goalkeeper develop, Szczęsny's career has certainly been different.

And perhaps his 2019 joke was more appropriate than it first sounded.

Was Szczęsny underrated during his prime?