Pepe Reina has previously explained that his disappointment when Liverpool wouldn’t let him leave for Arsenal.
The 42-year-old Spaniard will go down in the annals of history as one of Anfield’s most legendary shot stoppers, keeping 177 clean sheets in 394 appearances for the Reds between 2005 and 2014. However, Reina has previously admitted that he wanted away from the club when times were tough behind the scenes.
Speaking in his 2011 autobiography, Reina explained that he was on the verge of leaving the club on three separate occasions under the reign of American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Dubbed one of Liverpool’s most controversial periods in the club’s 132 year history, Hicks’ and Gillett’s ownerships saw the Reds slump from Champions League challengers towards the lower reaches of the table after a troubled relationship with then-manager Rafa Benitez.
Troubles deepened when Hicks and Gillett fell out and an abundance of debt pushed the club to the brink of collapse. And Reina was unsettled by the situation, with hopes of moving on to a more stable club. The keeper was reportedly keen on speaking with Arsene Wenger in particular to wangle a £20million move to Arsenal, but claims that the club stopped him from leaving to prevent negative signals reaching respective buyers.
Meanwhile, Benitez had reportedly talked Reina out of leaving the club for Valencia on an earlier occasion, while his wife did her best to prevent him from making rash decisions in the transfer windows. Speaking in his book, Reina said of the fiasco: “I went from elation one minute to depression the next as the realisation dawned that Liverpool were going nowhere fast.
“When I signed my contract in April 2010 I hoped that better times were just around the corner, a feeling that was fuelled by the promises of improvement from people at the club. It didn’t take me long to feel that their promises were hollow. I felt betrayed.
“Our owners were at war with each other, the club’s debts were spiralling out of control and a change in manager had failed to dispel the feeling that we were on the road to nowhere. Arsenal had made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper.
“Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future even if I did so with a heavy heart. When Liverpool received the bid, they rejected it. This was not because I had been told that I was too good a keeper to leave. The reason I was given was quite different – and it left me feeling down.
“I was told that my continued presence was crucial to the sale of the club. I was simply a bargaining chip in the sales process.” With protestors marching against Hicks and Gillett, they sold their controlling interest to New England Sports Ventures in October 2010.
And after a long reflection period, Hicks told Sky Sports in 2019 that he regretted going into business with Gillett. He said: “Absolutely I made some mistakes, I did some things that were very good also but the biggest problem I had was, I picked the wrong partner.” He also admitted that he tried to oust his business partner from the club after just six months at the helm.
He continued: “We actually agreed to part ways but every time I tried to get the money to buy him out something would happen and he was also trying to do the same to me, it was just a very poor partnership. I travelled all over the Middle East talking to a lot of people.
“Liverpool has such huge support in the Middle East in particular and there were several times I thought I had a very strong new partner that could help us execute the plan.” Reina did ultimately end up parting ways with the club, but not until he had endured some incredibly tough and uncertain times at Anfield.
Reina made the move to Bayern Munich in 2014, before jumping ship to Napoli the very next year. He signed with AC Milan in 2018, before a move to Lazio came in 2020. Reina played for Villarreal between 2022 and 2024, and is currently settled with Como – serving as a backup to first-choice Emil Audero.
