BARCELONA, Spain, Oct 3 – 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.
