Pepe Reina: No Reason to Think I'll Be Liverpool Player From Now On
Pepe Reina has revealed that he will never be a Liverpool player after admitting that he was forced out of Anfield.
The Merseyside club signed Simon Mignolet in the summer transfer window. The arrival of the Belgium international forced the Spanish stopper to leave for a season-long loan, which saw him link up with his former manager Rafael Benitez at Napoli.
Brendan Rodgers made Mignolet as the club's first choice, forcing Reina to be dropped to the bench. Liverpool were looking to balance their wage list while the 31-year-old was looking for regular playtime and thus allowing him to leave on loan.
The former Swansea boss had earlier admitted the decision to allow Reina move was beneficial for both the club and the player.
"There's no reason to think I'll be a Liverpool player from now on but we'll see where the future takes us. At the moment it's difficult to think about being a Liverpool player next year. They have a young goalkeeper in Simon Mignolet and the manager prefers him to me," Reina told the Daily Mail.
"It did come as a surprise,' said Reina, who has three years left on his Anfield deal. It was the club [Liverpool] who made the move. I was on my holidays and nobody told me anything. Suddenly Napoli called and said they were agreeing terms with Liverpool and Liverpool just rang me two days later and said the same. They probably had their own reasons."
Meanwhile, Reina is enjoying his life in Naples and has no regret joining the Italian outfit on a season-long loan. The Spaniard already has two clean sheets in the league and Napoli are unbeaten after five games in Serie A.
"It's been a good move so far and I don't regret what happened. I would have preferred to say goodbye in a different way. I'm happy to be back at this level. I never expected it but it's been a great decision. I feel invigorated by the move," the Spaniard said.
"I want to enjoy this year. It is such an important one for me with the World Cup around the corner and returning to the top flight, playing in the Champions League and fighting for the title, is something I have missed in the last two or three years."
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