Stars who couldn't quit: Barça's Szczesny the latest player to come out of retirement

Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. Wojciech Szczęsny became the latest footballer who just couldn’t quit the game this week when the goalkeeper reversed his decision to retire in order to sign for Barcelona as a free agent.

Despite having one year left on his contract with Juventus, the 34-year-old called time on his career in August after representing Poland at Euro 2024.

The former Arsenal shot-stopper stated that, after 18 years as a professional during which time he won 11 trophies including three Serie A titles, he no longer felt the same passion for the game as he once did.

However, it only took a couple of months for Szczęsny to be tempted back into the fray when Barça came calling with an offer of a short-term contract as cover for Marc-André ter Stegen, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Villarreal last month.

Iñaki Peña is expected to continue as Ter Stegen’s replacement, for the time being at least, but Szczęsny will be on call to provide experienced backup for the remainder of the campaign having agreed a deal that will run until the end of June 2025.

And so, just five weeks after announcing his retirement, Szczęsny is back on the books of one of the biggest club sides in the world and thus becomes the latest high-profile veteran to have bowed out gracefully only to subsequently find that they weren’t quite finished with football.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated since it was first published in May 2020

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Pelé

The only player to win three World Cups, Pelé forged a lengthy career that began at Santos at the age of 15 and ran — at least initially — until 1974, when the Brazil icon made the emotional decision to bow out after 19 prolific seasons with his boyhood club.

However, a lucrative offer from the New York Cosmos convinced Pele to keep on playing and the veteran striker eked out another three years in the NASL before retiring again in 1977.

Diego Maradona

Another player with a legitimate claim to be the greatest of all time, Maradona also staged a dramatic comeback to the game after initially retiring in 1996 while at Boca Juniors after missing five penalty kicks in a row.

His lay-off lasted a matter of months before he agreed to return to play for Boca in 1997. The reunion lasted just six months until Maradona saw fit to say his goodbyes all over again, retiring from professional football for good this time.

Johan Cruyff

The Dutch maestro originally quit football in 1978 after leaving Barcelona but was soon forced back to work the following year after losing a small fortune in an investment scam.

Cruyff joined NASL side Los Angeles Aztecs on a lucrative contract to recoup some of the millions he’d lost in a Spanish pig-farming con. Yes, you read that correctly.

He then remained in the U.S. for a spell with the Washington Diplomats before returning to Spain with Levante and then headed home to the Netherlands, firstly with former club Ajax and then Feyenoord.

Landon Donovan

MLS Hall of Famer Donovan brought his career to a close in 2014 at the age of 32 after, by his own admission, “losing his passion” for soccer.

Thankfully, the fire was reignited two years later when Donovan returned to LA Galaxy to help cover an injury hex that had seen three players go off in the same game.

The former U.S. international played in six league games and three playoff fixtures, scoring once, but couldn’t help propel Galaxy to the championship.

He then retired (again) at the end of the season only to come back (again) and sign for Liga MX outfit León, but his contract was terminated five months later.

Paul Scholes

Scholes first retired at the end of the 2010-11 season, bringing a close to nearly 20 years of loyal and highly successful service at Manchester United and moving straight on to the coaching staff.

However, just six months later, an injury blitz saw Sir Alex Ferguson forced to convince Scholes to return to the fray in January — which he did, and rather successfully at that, as United went on to win the Premier League title.

Indeed, what was supposed to be a short-term fix soon led to a one-year contract extension that ultimately saw Scholes make another 33 appearances and score another five goals for United before retiring for a second time in May 2013, having helped United claim one final title before Ferguson retired.

Done! And now back to work. @fcgroningen pic.twitter.com/HdedmvDRQn

— Arjen Robben (@ArjenRobben) June 28, 2020

Arjen Robben

Robben initially retired from the professional game in the summer of 2019 when his contract at Bayern Munich expired, hanging up his boots and scampering off into the sunset for a life of post-football leisure.

However, true to form, the winger quickly cut back inside on his retirement plans after being tempted into one last season with his boyhood club, FC Groningen, at the grand old age of 36.

Unfortunately, Robben wasn’t able to make a huge impact in his second spell with Groningen, making just seven appearances in all competitions after succumbing to the old injury woes that blighted much of his career. He then announced his second retirement at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Rivaldo

Rivaldo played on well into his 40s before finally succumbing to his first “retirement” announcement.

The first decision to quit came in March 2014, which lasted until June 2015, when the 43-year-old Brazilian dusted off his boots in order to sign for Brazilian Serie B club Mogi Mirim — where he played alongside his 20-year-old son. Incredibly, the pair even scored in the same match.

Rivaldo, 43, and his son Rivaldinho scored in the same match for Mogi Mirim last night!

Like father like son… pic.twitter.com/zpYj5GUP0M

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 15, 2015

Romario

One of the greatest strikers to have ever lived, Romario’s long and meandering career spanned almost three decades.

The Brazilian finally quit in 2008 but his retirement came to an abrupt end in 2009 when he returned from the void to sign for Rio de Janeiro-based club America FC — the team his late father had supported.

Romario failed to add to his mythic career tally of 1,000 goals in the 25 minutes he played for America, but he will go down as part of the squad that won the Carioca Championship second-division title that season.

Jens Lehmann

A former “Invincible” from the Gunners’ 2003-04 title-winning squad, Lehmann reversed his retirement to return to Arsenal for the latter stages of the 2010-11 season to help cover an injury crisis.

Two years on from his 199th appearance, Lehman played once during his second stint to take his tally to a nice round 200 for the Gunners.

He also became the oldest player to represent the club in the Premier League in the process.

Jurgen Klinsmann

Five years after bringing his glittering, World Cup-winning career to an end, Klinsmann was tempted back by the prospect of playing in the fourth-tier US Premier Development League.

The legendary German striker had moved to the United States to begin his coaching career, but kept his skills honed by regularly turning out for Orange County Blue Star, his local amateur side.

Zico

He may have been of the greatest players of his generation, but Zico made a relative hash of his attempts to leave it.

The Brazil great attempted to retire in 1989 after three injury-dashed years with Flamengo. However, it wasn’t long before Zico accepted an offer to attempt a comeback in Japan with Kashima Antlers.

What followed was an inspirational, transformative goal-laden second wind that lasted three more years before coming to an end in 1994, with Zico then age 41.

Paul Gascoigne

In fairness, it’s difficult to keep track of all the times Gascoigne has dipped in and out of retirement, but the official decision to hang up his boots came in 2004 following a largely miserable few months at Chinese side Gansu Tianma.

The prevailing years have seen Gazza make intermittent returns to football, first with League Two side Boston United (2004) as player-coach — a position that lasted mere weeks.

Then, after 12 years away, the England great signed for Abbey FC, his local Sunday league side, after apparently being convinced to do so by a taxi driver who also happened to be Abbey’s manager.