Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has been caught on camera smoking in the dressing room following the club’s 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in El Clasico.
The incident was captured in now-deleted footage shared on Barcelona’s social media accounts.
The clip, which had amassed over 500,000 likes before being removed, showed Szczesny exhaling smoke in the background as the team celebrated their win.
The 34-year-old Polish keeper, who recently came out of retirement to provide backup for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen, has a well-documented history of smoking.
Szczesny has been unapologetic about his smoking habit. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he said: “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.”
Barcelona stars celebrated after beating Real Madrid
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The goalkeeper added: “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.”
Szczesny insisted: “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.”
This is not Szczesny’s first smoking-related incident in football. In 2015, whilst at Arsenal, he was caught smoking in the showers after a 2-0 defeat to Southampton.
Recalling Arsene Wenger’s reaction, Szczesny told Arsenal’s podcast: “I saw him a couple of days later, he asked me if that was true and I said, ‘Yes’. He fined me and that was the end of it.”
The incident resulted in a £20,000 fine and Szczesny being dropped from the team.
It marked his final Premier League appearance for Arsenal before being loaned to Roma.
Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid was a dominant display, with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice and Lamine Yamal and Raphinha also finding the net.
Barcelona put Real Madrid to the sword
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The win moved Barcelona six points clear at the top of La Liga and ended Madrid’s 42-match unbeaten run in the league.
Szczesny, who came out of retirement earlier this month, watched the match from the bench as an unused substitute.
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Wojciech Szczesny has come out of retirement to sign for Barcelona
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He is yet to make his debut for Barcelona since joining as backup for Inaki Pena following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending knee injury.
The Polish keeper previously spent seven seasons at Juventus, making 252 appearances, before his brief retirement.