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Valencia CF v FC Barcelona - LaLiga EA SportsGetty Images Sport
Mohamed Mansi
Translated by

Addiction? Barcelona star opens his heart with striking confessions

W. Szczesny
LaLiga
Barcelona
Spain
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Barcelona and Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has admitted he is not ready to fight his smoking addiction.

Beyond what he does between the posts, Szczesny has won over the Barcelona faithful with his blunt honesty and easy charm. 

For the first time in his career, the fans have handed him a chant of his own, "Szczesny the smoker", and he loves it, addiction and all.

Sport newspaper carried Szczesny's comments from his interview with "The Athletic", where he opened up about the "weakness" he lives with. It is a "terrible" thing, he said, one he would recommend to nobody, but he is not ready to take it on.

The Poland goalkeeper said: "I never had a chant of my own before, so I am enjoying it. It may not seem like the most professional thing in the world, but I am who I am. People know I have an addiction I cannot get rid of."

"I think this also seems real to them, because a lot of players have different types of addiction, whether nicotine, alcohol or gambling," he added. "But I am open about this matter. It is an addiction I am not even ready to fight. I accept it, and perhaps that is what makes it seem real in people's eyes."

People do not think he smokes because of the paparazzi shots, the Poland goalkeeper explained. They know because he told them himself.

"I admitted my addiction, an addiction that many people around the world suffer from," he said. "And perhaps people can find themselves in this story."

He went on to stress: "I never think about encouraging people to smoke. I think it is a terrible thing, and everyone should avoid it. It is one of my weaknesses, but I am at peace with this weakness."

  • Wojciech Szczesnygetty

    I fell in love with Barcelona

    Barcelona's offer landed, and after some calm reflection, Szczesny made himself a promise: if he signed, he would enjoy every last moment of it.

    He said: "I feel like one of the fans inside the stadium. I approach this stage as an added bonus in my career. I will make the most of it, and I will enjoy it in the way I love, and it seems that people genuinely sense that."

    "I feel an enormous amount of love from the fans, just as I too have fallen in love with this place and with Barcelona," he added.

    The Polish goalkeeper knows plenty see him as "the oldest player in the dressing room, and the one who smiles most and is the most relaxed". There is more to him than that, though, and he insists not all of it plays out in public.

    He noted: "Sometimes, what you show on the cover is not everything that is inside you. I could have kept silent, not smiled, not enjoyed my life to this extent, and tried to be seen more as a professional player who has a great understanding of football and can pass his experience on to younger players."

    His verdict was simple. "But I chose not to do that."

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