Cristiano Ronaldo teased former teammate Wojciech Szczesny during an entertaining backstage encounter between the pair.
The retired Poland goalkeeper was in attendance as his national team suffered a 3-1 defeat to Ronaldo’s Portugal in a Nations League clash in Warsaw on Saturday.
GettySzczesny recently signed a short-term deal with Barcelona[/caption]
The Portuguese superstar got on the scoresheet to record his 133rd international goal to help his country maintain their 100 per cent record in this edition of the competition.
Szczesny was not on the pitch in a playing capacity, but made an appearance as he bid farewell to the Poland national team.
The 34-year-old announced his retirement from football in August following his departure from Juventus, before then making a u-turn on this decision as he joined Barcelona on a short-term deal.
But with his international career now officially over, the former Arsenal shot stopper was honoured at the National Stadium ahead of the game.
Mascots held up a large ‘Szczesny 84’ goalkeeper jersey in the centre of the pitch before kick-off in reference to his 84 caps, whilst he was also presented with a shirt bearing the same number.
And Szczesny even managed to have a reunion with Ronaldo, as he ran into his old Juventus teammate in the tunnel.
Footage shows the Pole telling the Portugal captain: “I play for Barcelona now,” to which Ronaldo replies: “I know!”
After the football icon signs an autograph for three young children, one of which is his son, Szczesny jokes: “Don’t worry I won’t tell anybody,” in reference to Barcelona and Real Madrid’s rivalry.
Ronaldo then aimed a cheeky dig at Szczesny, as he joked about the unusual timing of his move to the Spanish giants.
The 39-year-old quipped whilst laughing: “Unbelievable, you needed to retire to go to a big club,” before the pair hugged.
Credit: X: @@EliLeezayyRonaldo and Szczesny laughed as the Portugal star signed an autograph for the goalkeeper’s son[/caption]
Credit: X: @EliLeezayyRonaldo then aimed a cheeky jibe at his former club teammate[/caption]
Both Ronaldo and Szczesny have certainly lined up for some huge names in European football during their careers.
The goalkeeper lifted the FA Cup twice at Arsenal, where he began his career, spending two years on loan at Roma between 2015 and 2017 before making the move to Juventus.
During his seven years with the Old Lady, Szczesny lifted both the Serie A and Coppa Italia trophies three times each, three of which he shares with Ronaldo.
The Manchester United legend played alongside the former Gunners man in Italy between 2018 and 2021, having joined from Real Madrid, where he won four Champions League titles.
Now plying his trade at Saudi side Al Nassr and nearing his 40th birthday, Ronaldo has shown no desire to hang up his boots just yet, having previously revealed his plans to play at the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Szczesny’s own plans of calling it a day were clearly short-lived too, as he spent just over a month in retirement before announcing his return to action with Barca.
This came after the LaLiga giants found themselves short of options following a season-ending injury to no.1 goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
They were ultimately successful in persuading Szczesny to come out of retirement, who announced his signing in early October.
Ronaldo was twice named Serie A Footballer of the Year whilst at Juventus
In a video announcing his move, the former Brentford loanee said: “I’m very proud to be a Barcelona player. Visca el Barca (long live Barca).”
Szczesny is now in line to make his debut for the Catalan side when they return to league action this weekend against Sevilla.
