Barcelona's Wojciech Szczesny Fires Back at Critics Over Smoking Cigarettes

Veteran goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny firmly believes that smoking cigarettes doesn't take away from how he performs in training and in matches.

The 34-year-old who's—enjoyed a storied career with clubs such as Arsenal, AS Roma and Juventus—recently made a U-turn decision on his retirement to sign for Barcelona. The La Liga club was in need of a first-team level shot-stopper after Marc-André ter Stegen suffered a knee injury.

Szczęsny explained that he works "twice as hard" to make sure he's at the top of his game when his number is called.

"There are things that I don't change in my personal life and it's nobody's business if I smoke," Szczęsny said in a interview with Deportivo Mundo. "I believe that it doesn't affect what I do on the pitch, I work twice as hard.

"I don't do it in front of kids because I don't want to have a bad influence on them. Sometimes somebody will take a photo from the trees where I have a cigarette, that's on them, not on me. If somebody thinks that I will change the way I am in my personal life they can think again because I am who I am. I've been this way my whole life."

The former Poland international continues to work up to full fitness ahead of Barcelona's La Liga clash vs. Sevilla on Oct. 20 when he could make his debut. Szczęsny aims to use his experience gained in 548 club appearances along with 210 clean sheets to help Barcelona's title charge under new head coach Hansi Flick.