Having been out on loan at Napoli for the course of the 2013/14 season, it appears that Pepe Reina is ready to leave Liverpool after making 285 appearances in 7 years for the Premier League side. During his loan spell in Italy he has featured 29 times, helping them finish a comfortable 3rd in Serie A with 13 points above 4th place, Fiorentina, but trailed 7 points behind 2nd place, Roma. However, Juventus went striding off into the distance with a respectable 102 points.
Reina signed for Liverpool back in 2005 by Rafa Benitez who hailed him as “the best goalkeeper in spain”. The signing came not long after Liverpool’s famous European Cup Final victory in Istanbul, in which history was made after they came back from 3-0 down to 3-3 against AC Milan, and went on to win the final on penalties. The arrival of Pepe Reina as the new first-choice goalkeeper at Liverpool relegated the European Cup Final hero, Jerzy Dudek, to the bench, and it wasn’t long before Reina was making his international debut for Spain in a friendly against Uruguay. Reina managed a clean sheet, with Spain winning 2-0.
The Spaniard signed for the Reds in the hope of having a sparkling career and a full trophy cabinet at the end of it. 2 years after Pepe Reina signed for Liverpool, they found themselves in another Champions League Final against AC Milan but this time they came away defeated. They were beaten 2-1 with 2 goals from Filippo Inzaghi and a late goal from Dirk Kuyt was too little too late. However, Liverpool’s form fell dramatically over the coming seasons, seeing them fail to qualify for the Champions League in 2009/10.
Despite Reina proving himself as an excellent goalkeeper who was very much worthy of wearing the famous red shirt, it was clear that times were changing and the winning formula was something that they just could not succeed in finding. It has taken Liverpool 4 years to get back into Europe’s elite competition, but with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers it seems that they are on course for getting back where they belong.
Unfortunately for Pepe Reina, his Liverpool career wasn’t quite as decorated with the honours he had originally expected. In his many years at the club, he managed to win 1 FA cup, 1 League cup, 1 FA Community Shield and 1 UEFA Super cup.
With Reina going out on loan, Liverpool needed a new man to come in. Simon Mignolet was signed as his successor for £11 million from Sunderland and has recently completed his first full season as a Liverpool player. However, with Liverpool going from strength to strength having finished 2nd place in the Barclays Premier League this year, it may be the dawn of a new era around Anfield Road and Pepe Reina’s services will no longer be needed, therefore resulting in his complete departure. With Liverpool wanting to continue with their unbelievable rate of improvement, we may see an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ mentality during the summer transfer window, and any player that will no longer be needed will almost certainly be sold.
With that said, nothing is set in stone. Transfers are constantly falling through and if Napoli decides not to buy, he may not yet be sold. If Reina was to leave Anfield he will undoubtedly be missed by the fans and the club is likely to remain a part of him forever. Is it time for Pepe Reina to say goodbye to Liverpool Football Club? Or will he find himself on his way back to Merseyside? We will have to wait and see.
