Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny told ESPN he has lost his battle with smoking and urged others not to follow his lead.
Szczesny, 35, has become a fans' favourite at Barça since coming out of retirement to join the club in October, tasting defeat just once in his 25 appearances, away at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week.
Supporters regularly chant "Szczesny fumador" [smoker Szczesny] during games given his honesty since signing about the fact the fact he smokes.
However, while he is happy to speak openly about the topic, he is keen to stress it is a negative habit which should not be copied.
"There are some parts of the game where I believe I can be a perfect example for young people or, in fact, for my teammates," he told ESPN when asked about his job as a role model to young supporters.
"And there are some things in my career that you better not follow. In a few aspects, I fail at [being an example], but I try to be the best version of myself, and I try to give the correct example to my teammates, to young kids who watch us.
"But mentioning the subject of smoking, please do not follow me and don't do it. I've lost the fight. When I was very young, I created a habit that is very negative for me, and I know it is. I just lose against it. So for anybody watching: Don't do what I did."
It is unusual for footballers in the modern game to speak so candidly about the fact they smoke or drink.
"Because I'm not a politician," Szczesny added when asked about his decision to talk about a taboo which is often frowned upon inside football.
"Maybe that's why. I'm just a goalkeeper. I have to catch a ball and kick it. It's much, much easier to keep up with your previous interviews if you're just honest and you never lie and you're just open.
"You ask me a question, I answer the question as honestly as I can. You know, there are things I would rather not talk about. The subject that we mentioned, I would rather not talk about it.
"But if somebody asks me, yeah [I smoke]. But I would rather not have the question asked because I don't want to be a bad example."
Szczesny has kept 13 clean sheets since coming into the Barça team, helping keep Hansi Flick's side alive in all three competitions heading into the final stretch of the season.
They lead LaLiga by four points from Real Madrid, with the two Clásico rivals then set to contest the Copa del Rey final in Seville on Saturday.
Barça then meet Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals.
Szczesny is modest about his role in a campaign that has outperformed all preseason expectations, even joking about how easy his teammates have made it for him at times.
"I think a big part of it is coincidence," he said of his part in Barça losing just once in 27 games in 2025. "I mean, my input into us not losing a single game has been rather minimal.
"The team is playing very good football, scoring a lot of goals. You try not to mess it up for them. That's about it. I've just been lucky to step into the goal at the moment where the team started winning games.
"Also how we defend. It makes my job much easier because when they want to defend and they block every shot, win every tackle, every header, so I can just, for the lack of a better phrase, go and smoke a cigarette."