8 Jan 2014

€6m rip-off? - Benitez to gazump Barca to sign 'extraordinary' LFC star

In November, Barcelona vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu publicly confirmed (for the first time) that the Catalan club is definitely interested in signing Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, but new reports suggest that the Spanish goalkeeper could end signing a permanent deal with Napoli instead.

Speaking to RAC1, Bartomeu said:

"Ter Stegen and Reina are within our range of options, which is already very small

"We are in highly advanced negotiations.

"If Valdes says officially where he will go to in January, we will announce the new goalkeeper for Barcelona"


Rafa Benitez is keen to keep Reina, though, and the Liverpool Echo today reports that Napoli will make a play for the on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper:

"Napoli are willing to pay the Reds’ asking price of around €6 million to permanently sign the Spanish international once the campaign ends, which might end up blocking his potential move to Barca".

When asked recently about his future in August, Reina told the The Independent:

"At the moment it's difficult to think about being a Liverpool player next year. There's no reason to think I'll be a Liverpool player from now on"

In October, however, Reina seemed resigned to the possibility of returning to Merseyside next summer. He told Italian newspaper La Gazetta Dello Sport:

"My future? As far as I know, I will return to Liverpool after my loan spell is over. Then, we'll see what happens"

Reina certainly has a lot of support within the Barca camp, though, and over the last couple of months, several of the club's players/staff have declared their public support.

* SEPTEMBER 2013: Frans Hoek - the Barca's former goalkeeping coach - insisted Reina is the only realistic option to take over from Victor Valdes. He told Mundo Deportivo:

"Pepe [Reina] is the best option for Barca. The club needs a goalkeeper with confidence, who...can play the system that suits Barca, which is why Reina is the best choice".

* OCTOBER 2013: Pedro Rodriguez told Esport3:

"He [Reina] would be a great goalkeeper for us. We would be delighted to welcome Pepe because we already know him. He would fit in very quickly."

* OCTOBER 2013: Sergio Busquets told COPE Radio:

"He [Reina] is a great goalkeeper. If he comes it would be fine.”

* OCTOBER 2013: Cesc Fabregas told Radio Catalunya:

"One of the things that Pepe can bring is that he knows all of us. He provides a very good atmosphere in the dressing room and is experienced."

In the summer transfer window, Reina - recently described as 'extraordinary' by Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque - was rated in the £15m-rated bracket (which is arguably a fair fee), but according to a November reports in Mundo Deportivo:

* Liverpool have agreed a €5m fee with Barcelona for Reina.
* The fee will be made in two payments: €2.5m in 2014, and €2.5m in 2015.

€5m for one of the top goalkeepers in Europe with probably another 8-9 years left at the top? Seems like a giant rip-off to me. Having said that, perhaps the club just wants to cut its losses and get Reina off the wage bill. Liverpool could hold out for a bigger fee - £10m, perhaps - but if the Spaniard can't be shifted at that price, the Reds could ultimately be left with an unhappy goalkeeper on massive wages.

On a related note: In recent weeks, I've noticed quite a few Liverpool fans state that they'd like Reina to return to Anfield to replace Simon Mignolet, who made a few mistakes over the Christmas period. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to me, it's preposterous to suggest that the Belgian - who only signed six months ago - should be scrapped to make way for Reina, who clearly lost his passion for LFC years ago.

It will be interesting to see the results of the following poll:

polls


Author:


36 comments:

  1. He should return to provide the genuine competition BR was talking about. 5m euros is a joke!

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  2. i cant believe anyone voted yes to riena,mignolet will only get better.and as stated above,riena lost his passion years ago

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  3. Not when he's on GBP7mil a year

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  4. i think 6 million is far too cheap but that ship has sailed ibelieve and i hate too say this but as good as he was hes on a downward spiral and will never be as good again i think rodgers has done fantastically well getting mignolet in and he will prove a great keeper for years to come

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  5. People voted for Reina? F*** some people are fickle....

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  6. He put on weight and his reactions slowed. Then his brain went into the glove box periodically. Mignolet is a better keeper and his reflexes are waaayyyy faster.

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  7. Barca will sign Ter Stegen. He's refused to sign a new contract at Gladbach and will leave on a free in the summer.

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  8. I don't understand this . I bet Arsene wenger would pay 10-15m easy for Reina. Even with the prices quoted for Agger and Skrtell in the past I am wondering what is going on . Agger = 20m (18m at the least) and Skrtell he is now the same. You don't just give players away because they are on high wages to get them off the wage bill . There is a reason why the players are on high wages. Put them up for sale. Putting a player on loan you are going to sell is madness. Sell right away . Reina would have been sold for 10-17m last year if he was available. now still 10 -15m clubs would pay.

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  9. You understand it. I t is just too difficult to accept it..

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  10. Some people are mad..
    Fans that voted for Reina, and those who sold him for peanuts..

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  11. More likely that some people voted for Reina because they are the opposite of fickle and can't accept he isn't the keeper he used to be.

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  12. 5mil Euros??? That's highway robbery. You can say we'll be getting his high wages off our backs but can't Madrid and Tottenham say the same thing about their highly paid backup goalies? This is a keeper who has won 3 golden gloves, playing a major part in a team sitting 3rd in the serie A, spanish international who has a shout of being their number 1 for the WC with Casillas being frozen out for so long at Madrid, and in his "goalkeeping prime" of 31...that should get at LEAST 10mil pound. This is an Owen-esc robbery all over again and we've been sitting in the front seat watching it for months now. Say what you will, but no other team with a player of his calibre on their roster would let him go for a measly 5mil euros. I bet you Heurelho Gomes and Casillas (if they make permanent switches) will go for more even though they've sat on the bench the entire year...our transfer nuance sometimes is just madenning !

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  13. No one is perfect. Mignolet wants to be here and won't be thinking about playing for any other club. He's a great keeper and I'm very happy with how he's done. People make mistakes and I really don't think he's done anything terrible. He's had a couple of poor touches trying to make saves. So that makes how many in the season? 2? 3? Fans can delude themselves into thinking Reina was flawless but it's just not true. Keepers make mistakes but Mignolet is otherwise top class.


    It would be nice to get more money for Reina but I guess it's hard when it's so obvious to everyone that we don't need or want him here. Even if there is competition I think clubs would negotiate the lowest possible price, knowing that if we don't agree we'll get nothing. We might stretch to 10 million euros at best.

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  14. I would like to see real competition for the goal keeping position such as Man C has. But saying that I guess Pepe's wages have to be taken into consideration. You would think that LFC could get close 5m for Brad Jones and have 2 first class keepers. You have to admire the competition between Man C's keepers and the improvement in form and attitude by Joe Hart because of that.

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  15. Man City are a different entity to most other clubs. To have guys like Dzeko not getting regular game time is pretty astonishing. I don't know how the players deal with it.

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  16. £5mil for Brad Jones? Why?
    He is 31, has only a shade over 100 first team appearances at club level and has never fully established himself as 1st choice GK at any point during his career.

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  17. Off topic it really seems that we may miss out on Salah. I find this incredible. He wants to play for LFC that is his preferred move. Even to the point his family is in Liverpool looking at accommodation. But now a host of teams are in for him German and Spanish and Russian. We know Basle are gonna take the best offer that's the way they do business. This deal should have been done and dusted days ago but LFC's reluctance to meet Basle's 10m valuation has meant there is an offer of 15m on the table. Should have coughed up the money earlier, the other clubs will. Makes you wonder if BR has been given a price cap per player. I certainly hope not or no marquee signing will be coming our way. I doubt now very much we will see Salah at LFC the momentum in this transfer is really going away from us and you have to look at the hierarchy of the club (read Ian Ayre) and wonder what the hell is going on. He flew to Spain to try for Montoya a player that doesn't really want to come to LFC but what time has he spent on Salah a player who does?

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  18. I agree with you completely especially your comments about complacency. Even if Brad Jones was 2m the difference is small in the scheme of things. At this point in time we have 2 top class keepers contracted to the club. My point is if possible keep Pepe and Simon and create some real competition to eliminate any complacency. I understand that Reina's salary is a stumbling block but it depends on the clubs attitude to the GK position. It seems competition is imperative in all other positions except that one. An opinion that I don't agree with. We have experienced alread complacency with what happened to Reina. I really like the way Joe Hart was handled at Man C and he has really pulled up his socks now.

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  19. No thanks, Reina's time has come and gone at LFC. Mignolet is one of the best shot stoppers in the EPL, all he needs to do is work on his distribution and our coaches are probably working with him to improve on that.


    Mignolet is destined to become a LFC great...

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  20. Yeah, its all over the world generally. :P

    Happy New Year bhai :D

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  21. happy new year bro :-)

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  22. When Jaimie wrote about Alberto being harshly treated by Rogers against Oldam I hadn't seen the game at the time I just heard the commentary. I have seen Alberto's performance since and I think that he done well. He gave the ball away a little towards the end of the half but thats to be expected when you haven't played a lot. I understand why BR subbed him but it can't do much for his confidence moving forward.

    I think Assaidi didn't feature much at LFC. When he did feature I felt he did ok, he used to hold on to the ball a bit too much and checked back a lot instead of delivering the ball first time, but I felt he could of improved in that aspect over time. I think Borini will stay and Assiadi will go in the summer.

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  23. I think LFC should get rid of Reina as soon as possible. It's clear he wanted to leave LFC but made up a story that we treated him unfairly. While he flirted with Barca were we suppose to wait for him to leave us high and dry? LFC have been proactive on this occasion bringing Mignolet in and it paid dividends.

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  24. What you think? Just because we win a game or two now FSG are not a**holes?
    I hope to see them out as soon as possible.

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  25. FSG . they dont make sense because they don't care.

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  26. You could be right this Salah debacle speaks volumes and it certainly wasn't BRs doing.

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  27. I still think Pepe is a better keeper but would not vote for him to come back now It would be far too disruptive and won't happen There is no cloying man love from BR there.. I don't think he necessarily lost his love for Liverpool but I can understand why the lure of his boyhood club would be difficult to resist.

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  28. Well I don't fully understand it either because I don't think any of us know or probably will ever know the whole story.. It is easier to blame Pepe as he has gone and we need to look forward but all involved have their own agendas and truth is subjective

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  29. We could always hope for H and G to come back FSG have been great owners and have run the club responsibly and put it back on track.
    If your praying for a sheik who will cheat FFP rules just to succeed you will be waiting a long time.

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  30. Once again you go on talking about a subject you know nothing about JK
    Liverpool have no say in the value of Pepe as the rules state that any player aged 28 with less than 3 years remaining on his contract has the right to buy out the remainder of his contract and sign for any club abroad offering him a contract of 3 years or more so in Pepe's case whatever the cost remaining on his Liverpool contract in the summer Napoli, Barca or any other foreign club

    It's no use shouting he is worth 20m or 15m or whatever because he is only worth the cost of his contract

    Pepe set the ball rolling saying he would like to replace Valdez liverpool then had to go and find a keeper they sign one in SM only for Valdez to do a U-Turn leaving Pepe in noman's land for 12 months this being a world cup year he wanted to be playing so the solution was a loan deal w hich Rafa arranged for him with Pepe now having a choice to make in the summer Stay with Rafa or Join boyhood club Barca but the fee will be the cost of his remaining Liverpool Contract is that plain enough for you

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  31. This was always going to happen mate. We have no idea what players want, we only know what they or their agents are prepared to say or what journalists are prepared to make up. There's no use paying any attention to transfer rumours whatsoever.

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  32. £500 000 would be more like it.

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  33. I would sooner jones was our number one. both the others are poor at crosses.

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  34. I do not blame pepe, its just that he had to go- 2 or years with 12 points lost with him to blame. He looks good again, and I wish him the best-do remember him as one of top 3 in the world, if not the best. But dumping Mignolet would be a crazy move. Having both of them- crazy again..

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  35. If he keeps doing what he is doing right now, ask 8 mil, or do not sell- we could use him. Or sell Salah for double what we paid for him, if he is good as he aledgelly is. Or Sterling if he keeps up his form. We will have options in the summer, regarding sales, I think..

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