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Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has opened up about his long-standing battle with smoking, warning young players and fans about the dangers of the habit he admits he has been unable to overcome.
The 35-year-old shot-stopper, who came out of retirement to join Barcelona in October following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending injury, has quickly become a fan favorite at Camp Nou. Supporters have even nicknamed him “Szczesny fumador,” which translates to “smoker Szczesny.”
Speaking to ESPN, Szczesny urged young people not to follow his example when it comes to smoking.
“There are some parts of the game where I believe I can be a perfect example for young people or, in fact, for my teammates,” Szczesny said. “And there are some things in my career that you better not follow.”
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“In a few aspects, I fail at being an example, but I try to be the best version of myself. However, when it comes to smoking — please, don’t do what I did,” he continued. “I’ve lost the fight. When I was very young, I created a habit that is very negative for me, and I know it. I just lose against it. So for anybody watching: Don’t do what I did.”
Wojciech Szczesny (Image credit: Getty Images)Szczesny’s struggles with smoking have followed him throughout his career. During his time at Arsenal, he was famously fined and dropped by Arsène Wenger after being caught smoking in the dressing room following a 2-0 defeat to Southampton in 2015.
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Reflecting on the incident during an appearance on the Arsenal Nation podcast in 2020, Szczesny admitted he was a regular smoker at the time and had knowingly broken club rules.
“Back then, I was smoking regularly and the boss knew it very well,” Szczesny recalled. “He just didn’t want anybody smoking in the dressing rooms, and I knew that too. But after the emotion of the game, I had a cigarette in the corner of the showers where nobody could see me — or so I thought.”
“Somebody saw me and reported it to the boss. A few days later, Wenger asked me if it was true, I said yes, and he fined me. That was the end of it,” he said. “He told me I would be out of the team for a little while. There were no big bust-ups; it was very professional.”
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