21 May 2013

'It's flattering' - £15m LFC star admits he 'dreams of playing for Barca'. Let him go...?

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has given the strongest indication yet that he could leave Anfield for Barcelona this summer.

A report over the weekend in Spanish newspaper Marca stated:

"Pepe Reina is aware of Barcelona's interest. He would be happy to make the move, and he is waiting for a call from the Catalan club"

In an interview with Iberian radio station Cadena Ser last night, the Spaniard admitted that he is 'flattered' to be linked with a move to Barcelona, and made a very unsubtle 'come and get me' plea to the Spanish giants. He said:

"The Barcelona rumours are flattering. It is a team that I know well and the club where I grew up.

"Whoever does this job dreams of playing for Barcelona.

"There has been no contact with my agent or with Liverpool, but certainly. I'd like to end my career in Spain. Here I feel appreciated and it is not easy to find a place where it can be equally good"


Reina's comments come as no shock whatsoever (for me, anyway). Reading between the lines, it is blindingly obvious that £15m-rated Reina wants to join Barcelona, but Liverpool will still stick their hands in the sand and refuse to accept it.

When asked the question, did Reina have to say that all goalkeepers 'dream of playing for Barca'? Did he have to say that he wants to 'end his career in Spain'? NO. If he wanted to stay, he would've just explained that he's happy at LFC and looking forward to the future.

When players say this stuff in public, it is a message to other teams that they are willing to leave, and an open invitation for any the interested team to make a move.

Reina wants out. Fans should start accepting it now as he'll probably be gone sooner rather than later.



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


38 comments:

  1. As soon as possible. But for a right price- around 15 mill.

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  2. If we buy a decent keeper with the money i.e.Mignolet, then he can go, he has been good for us, given us a few years of good service, thanks Pepe.

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  3. liverpool4life5656:31 pm, May 21, 2013

    Liverpool have agreed 15 million for Carroll? So we had 2 million for the loan so altogether we get 17 million? Help us rebuild more! And if he wants to go then let him go we will get begovic.

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  4. apparently carroll deal for 15m accepted think its true ?

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  5. I don't think you'll find many people disagreeing with Reina wanting to leave JK. I think that if he wants to go, we should let him. He's put in a good shift here, has never been disloyal, has adjusted to the city and a new country and it is understandable that he wants to move home at some stage. His kids are getting older and it makes perfect sense that he wants them near their grandparents and roots. On top of that, any player will be tempted by playing for Barcelona, not just Reina. It's an institution, very much like ours. Whether it would be good for us to do this now, with a new defence coming in, I'm not sure. On the other hand, if we can get the business done early so a new goalkeeper and a new defensive couple get a full pre-season to work on their understanding, now is good a time as ever. If he does leave though, and I admit that is likely, we owe him a great deal of thanks and respect. He's been a great servant.

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  6. Not bothered if he stays or goes as long as we get a serious challenger to him for next season.That way when he throws his toys out the pram he can be dropped or not played at all.


    Jaimie, I'm much more interested in getting rid of the dead weight that is Andy Carroll I can't believe that West Ham are willing to cough up 15 million for him....I'm chuffed to bits he's off.


    Mark my words Carroll will NEVER achieve anything as a top striker he's slow can't pass and is constantly getting caught off side.
    What Dalglish thought he was doing buying him god only knows.

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  7. Well, Reina has not been playing too well, you could say that his form improved somehwat of late....but he certainly has not looked like the player that he can be consistently, which im sure he will/would be for Barcelona, would be a great signing for them and most definitely a loss for us.....

    Should we care?

    Yes, & he should want to stay, will/would be very hard to replace, no doubt about that, form is temporary etc....

    The question i think we need to discuss is should we be concerned that our top players at the Club might not be happy with the Club's current ambitions....?

    No European football....well off the top flight....no top flight manager being linked with the Club to suggest some kind of change is afoot....meaning probably a meagre/modest summer spend.....is it surprising that Pepe is being linked with a "better" Club....CL football & the chance to win a big trophy.....?

    We've just lost a fair few experienced players including Carra & who knows who else will want to follow.,...THIS SUMMER....

    It is time for FSG to step forward and at least show some consistency.....they got rid of Kenny for under achieving, regardless of some good cup runs.....SO, i wonder if they will be happy to let more quality players up and go this summer or will they show some intent and bring in a top flight manager who might just inspire the rest of our better players that is worth staying at LFC.

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  8. I think he's just being honest. Maybe too honest.

    He's happy at Liverpool, and if Barca came calling he'd listen.

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  9. SKY is reporting it. No fee mentioned but I'm hoping its for more than that

    http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/8726713/Transfer-news-West-Ham-agree-deal-with-Liverpool-for-Andy-Carroll

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  10. I see red people7:20 pm, May 21, 2013

    Apparently we have agreed a deal to sign Begovic if Reina does pack up and leave.


    Very good replacement that if you had to ask me.

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  11. I read the full article and it came over to me as the exact opposite, he seemed to be saying how much he wanted to stay here and the above comments looks like they are taken out of context of the full article.


    On another note Carroll appears to be off to West ham with 15mil agreed, which is a good deal for all parties. We were never going to get the 35mil back, and Carroll will get game time at a club that suits his style and seems to love him and West ham get a player who is important for them.


    I wonder if that 15mil goes into the kitty or if it is coming in stages. I imagine it will be in stages.


    Toure also looks a good one on a free. I know people may think hes past it, but on a free at what is rumoured to be around the 50k mark he would be a great addition. He has loads of expereince and even if he is just used as a back player he will be of great help. Add to that the young Greek Papa and for the same wages as Carra we will have two new players. The defense would then have four good CB`s in Agger, Skrtel, Papa and Toure and also some young ones in Wisedom and Kelly. Def would look a lot stronger in terms of depth than this season.


    Now if the 15mil from Carroll was used to sign Papa we would still have about 20mil (rumoured budget left). Can get Wanamaya for that and have 5mil spare. I`m sure there will be a few other sales too so that can go into the kitty and go towards another attacking player. With just them 3 signings we would already look a lot stronger.

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  12. It's funny...every other article translated his interview to say that he is happy at Liverpool and wants to stay. Somehow you have found the exact opposite from the same words..?

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  13. Apparently it's 12 million up front and the rest in installments and then other add ons.

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  14. reina is going worst kept secrect in football .

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  15. just heard david weir and neville as asst for the bitters

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  16. I love Reina. He has served us very well over the years. He deserves the opportunity to go play for Barca for a couple of years and win a few medals.

    Personally I think Begovic is currently a better keeper, with the potential to turn into a much better keeper.


    Begovic for Reina. Great deal,
    Carroll 15M. Great deal, especially if we get the 2M loan fee aswel.
    Toure on a free. Has the potential to be buy of the season. I have always rated Toure, exactly what we need.

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  17. Yeah, saw the same thing on Sky. Weird thing was that the gaurdian reported last year when he went on loan to west ham that it was a 2mil fee for the loan and a flat 17mil for a permanent deal if the hammers stayed up and made the deal permanent....classic journalism at it's best. I suppose only a handful of people know the actual details.
    Seems like the best deal for all sides but a 20mil pound loss is still a bitter pill to swallow

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  18. Jamie what do you make of Toure. Think pre drug scandal, great player. Highly experienced at playing at the highest level. He has leadership quailites, captain at arsenal and city, he is seriously quick and is used to winning things. He also has a point to prove. He is clearly not happy at sitting on the bench.

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  19. Carroll. £15m. Best news I've heard all season. Even if it was for a penny, I'd probably be just as happy, tbh!

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  20. do the sums 15mill plus carroll thats what chealsea payed. sold carroll for 15 mill . so we got 30 million for torres thats the bottom line. so we were in a no lose situasion but the winner was mike ashby he hiked the price for carroll and roman was desperate for torres .proves one thing football is nuts

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  21. loving the picture lol

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  22. neiljamiesonhall10:21 pm, May 21, 2013

    Why does this article avoid mentioning quotes like, "I have three more years with Liverpool. I'm satisfied, comfortable and my family are very happy" and "I don't know how long I've got left in football, what I do know is I want to enjoy what remains and feel appreciated and at Liverpool I have that." ?????

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  23. You can't look at the numbers like that mate or else we'd be able to justify every bad bit of business with some other good piece of business we did :)
    You've got to look at the player's value coming in, what they've contributed, and their price going out on an individual basis. Torres is a good peice of business for obvious reasons as is Hyypia, because although he left for less than he was bought he repaid his transfer fee ten fold with the cups and CL football his contributions brought to LFC. 35mil and a return of 11 total goals sold at 15mil is a big loss regardless of what we sold torres to chelsea for. You won't go to any investment firm and see them wave off a bad deal because they made a good one around the same time...a bad deal is a bad deal, and this was a bad deal.

    Having said that, its now water under the bridge and lets just hope BR brings in the new signing half as fast as West Ham seem to be getting theirs so they can get a full pre-season and really hit the ground running next season YNWA

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  24. No, every other article left out the part about Reina dreaming of playing for Barca.

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  25. i look a little pissed off, i just heard Erikson may go to Dortmund!

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  26. We have now been linked with Zeiler of Hannover, very good German goalkeeper and U21 keeper (i think) him and Bergovic??

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  27. You could read his comments 100 different ways, depending on how you want to twist the story. He also said he's very happy and settled at Liverpool, where he feels appreciated and sure of his place in the team. Sounds very much like a player saying that he's fine where he is but, yes, advances from a team like Barcelona are very flattering. I can't imagine any other footballer saying anything else and I don't even see the slightest indication that this is a "come and get me" statement. Rodgers says the rumour is a daft one and that we have no intentions of selling Reina. Perhaps you should start accepting now that Reina will be here next season and he'll still be our first choice keeper.

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  28. I think you're on the money here. The figure was always put out there as Torres = Carroll price + 15 million. It was never going to be a horribly bad deal for us because we got such a good price for Torres. Losing up to 20 million on Carroll is not ideal but credit to the club for making the initial transaction during the January window. We did OK.

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  29. Again.. !

    The way you've slashed and burned his and the manager's comment's to suit your own agenda is nothing short of disgraceful !!

    You take this opportunity and your own floral interpretation of Pepe's comment's to make YOUR own case and MISLEADING headlines for Pepe's departure...

    Many media outlet's which covered his comment's in FULL, ran a story of Reina's reiterated statement's of his and his family's happiness at the club..

    "I don't know how long I've got left in football. I want to enjoy what
    remains and feel appreciated and at Liverpool I have that."..

    I ve said it before and I'll say it again Jaimie but this constant De-construction of a Liverpool legend to suit your own personal preferences is un acceptable

    You've endeavored in every article to make Reina out to be a betrayer of the club and it's cause.. when in fact he and the manager have done nothing but re iterate their/his intention's of an existing and continued relationship the cause..

    I call now on you for once and for all to answer my obvious and your blatant claims that you are writing a LFC legend out of the picture to suit your own agenda and you have completely ignored this man's outstanding and continuing contribution to our history..


    These articles have got to stop.. !! Please give a balanced view to this whole sorry saga..

    I can agree and disagree with you on a lot of matter's but the attempted character and playing career assassination of Pepe Reina is unacceptable !!

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  30. Again.. !

    The way you've slashed and burned his and the manager's comment's to suit your own agenda is nothing short of disgraceful !!

    You take this opportunity and your own floral interpretation of
    Pepe's comment's to make YOUR own case and MISLEADING headlines for
    Pepe's departure...

    Many media outlet's which covered his comment's in FULL, ran a story
    of Reina's reiterated statement's of his and his family's happiness at
    the club..

    "I don't know how long I've got left in football. I want to enjoy what
    remains and feel appreciated and at Liverpool I have that."..

    I ve said it before and I'll say it again.. but this constant
    de-construction of a Liverpool legend to suit your own personal
    preferences is un acceptable

    You've endeavored in every article to make Reina out to be a betrayer
    of the club and it's cause.. when in fact he and the manager have done
    nothing but re iterate their/his intention's of an existing and
    continued relationship the cause..

    I call now on you for once and for all to answer my obvious and your
    blatant claims that you are writing a LFC legend out of the picture to
    suit your own agenda and you have completely ignored this man's
    outstanding and continuing contribution to our history..


    These articles have got to stop.. !! Please give a balanced view to this whole sorry saga..

    I can agree and disagree with you on a lot of matter's but the
    attempted character and playing career assassination of Pepe Reina is
    unacceptable

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  31. Any reason why my educated, rational, reasonable and language/snipping free comment was with held ?

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  32. Jamie don't you mean "stick their heads in the sane"

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  33. CONFIRMED BY ESPN, obviously the most reputable source of how the world came to be since the book of scientology

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  34. Ron Robert zieler is overrated ...
    ter steegen,Kevin trapp, Bernd leno, or even Rene Adler - those are The guys to have a look at !!

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  35. It's on the BBC so it's true. Now we can only hope Andy doesn't feck it up with crazy demands etc.

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  36. I wouldn't know mate i am not an expert, i just said we were linked with him and he was a good keeper! maybe we should give you the money and you go and buy our next goalkeeper.

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