The unexpected option that Barça tested to reinforce the goal before signing Szczęsny

FC Barcelona is facing a real debate after the injury of Marc-André ter Stegen. Given that this long-term physical setback, the sports management, along with the requests of coach Hansi Flick, considered it necessary to sign another goalkeeper.

Although there was full confidence in Iñaki Peña to take up the position of the starting goalkeeper for the Barcelona team, the club understood the importance of having a more experienced alternative in that position to not burden all the responsibility on the young goalkeepers from the academy: Ander Astralaga and Diego Kochen.

Fortunately, due to a LaLiga regulation that allowed the signing of a player in case of a prolonged injury (lasting more than four months) using 80% of their salary cap space, Barcelona had the option to bring in a player to compensate for the absence of the German '1'. However, this addition came with a clear condition: Ter Stegen's injury occurred outside the transfer window period, meaning the team could only look for a goalkeeper in the free agent market, where there were some very experienced options.

Eventually, the decision was made to sign Wojciech Szczęsny, who despite having announced his retirement a few months earlier and having terminated his contract with Juventus, did not hesitate to accept the opportunity to join Barcelona and signed a contract that binds him to the institution until June 30, 2025. The Warsaw native even had the chance to debut and play in some matches.

FC Barcelona did not only consider Szczęsny as a reinforcement for the goalkeeping position

However, Szczęsny was not the only option considered by FC Barcelona in the free agent market to address this situation. In fact, recently, during an interview with 'TVP SPORT', it was revealed that the Catalan club contacted another goalkeeper, Tomáš Vaclík, 35 years old, who is currently part of Albacete.

Vaclík is an experienced player who has represented his national team, the Czech Republic, and has had success with teams like Sevilla, with whom he won a Europa League. Additionally, Tomáš speaks Spanish, an important detail.

He exclusively revealed that he was considered a candidate to be Barcelona's goalkeeper instead of Ter Stegen. "I was following this situation all the time because I was also considered for a transfer to Barcelona as a replacement for Ter Stegen. In the end, they chose Szczęsny," he commented.

Vaclík 'surrendered' to 'Tek's' talent

Once the reason why the union between Vaclík and Barcelona did not materialize was known, this fact in a way supports the club's decision, praising 'Tek'. "Szczęsny was for many years the number one at Juventus and one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Suddenly they told him he was no longer part of the project, he decided to retire, and was on vacation in Marbella," he concluded.