Barcelona Signs Free Agent Wojciech Szczesny, Ending Polish Goalkeeper's Retirement

Barcelona have made a significant signing by acquiring Wojciech Szczesny as a free agent. The LaLiga club announced the addition on Wednesday, as the Polish goalkeeper had a change of heart and decided to come out of retirement to help the team following Marc-Andre ter Stegen's prolonged injury.

German keeper Ter Stegen underwent surgery after suffering a rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee over the weekend and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Inaki Pena, 25, is expected to cover for Ter Stegen but Barca have now reinforced their squad with Szczesny, who had announced his retirement last month after terminating his contract with Serie A side Juventus.

The 34-year-old former Poland international had one more year left on his contract at Juve, where he had replaced Italy great Gianluigi Buffon in goal.

ALSO READ | ICC Rankings: Bumrah gains top spot among Test bowlers, Jaiswal third in batting after Bangladesh win

Szczesny won the league and domestic cup three times each in more than 250 appearances for Juve but lost his place to close-season recruit Michele Di Gregorio.

Barcelona are at top of the LaLiga standings with 21 points from eight games, and Hansi Flick's side next visit Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to web's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for web audience.