Szczesny: 'It's nobody's business if I smoke'

Despite our plans, life always has the final say. Wojciech Szczesny had planned to retire from football and even announced the decision on August 27. However, only a bit over a month later - 36 days to be precise - he is active again, and not at some small club in his homeland, but at the Spanish and European greats - Barcelona.

The circumstances and Marc-Andre ter Stegen's severe injury have taken care of the Pole's future and overturned his retirement plans. Still, the 34-year-old was mentally out of football, which the press used to photograph him with a cigarette. Szczesny was no stranger to smoking in his playing days, either. During his spell at Juventus, he would occasionally be seen sparking up, while at Arsenal, they were not tolerant of his habits, so they used to fine him.

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The Spanish media decided to "ignite a fire" surrounding this topic once again, but the Pole's stances were firm and clear.

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

Even though he was not willing to give up on the smoking habit, the custodian claimed he tried to avoid setting a bad example to the youth.

"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," he stated.

Finally, the former Arsenal, Roma, and Juventus keeper left no room for changing himself.

"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," Szczesny concluded.