Szczesny refuses to quit smoking after joining Barcelona

Experienced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has said that he will not quit smoking despite having gone back on his decision to retire from football to join Barcelona.

With Marc-Andre ter Stegen having suffered a serious knee injury last month, which will keep him out for a long period of time, Szczesny was persuaded to get back into football having left Juventus in August.

But the goalkeeper is of the opinion that what he does off the pitch in his personal life should be of no interest to anyone.

"There are things that I don't change in my personal life," said Szczesny in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.

"It's nobody's business if I smoke. I believe it doesn't affect what I do on the pitch, I work twice as hard."

Happy Wednesday with Wojciech Szczęsny! pic.twitter.com/NPWBpNZT8a

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Szczesny did admit that, while he has no intention of stopping, there are certain boundaries he puts in place.

"I don't do it in front of kids because I don't want to have a bad influence on them," he said.

Despite that, he went on to make it clear that he won't be put off by people trying to catch him out with it.

"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."