Pepe Reina could easily not be a Liverpool player today. The Spanish goalkeeper has revealed in his autobiography that he almost joined Arsenal for £20million in 2010 but the Liverpool owners then blocked the move stating that selling Reina would send out the wrong message to potential new owners as Hicks and Gillett were looking to sell the club. Reina would have been seen as a valuable asset to any potential new owners.
Reina said, “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.”
What do you make of all of this? It is going to be interesting to read Reina full autobiography.
