Despite being a major part of Liverpool's poor defensive record last season, Simon Mignolet remains Brendan Rodgers' first-choice goalkeeper, and the chances of Pepe Reina usurping the Belgian stopper seem slim. As such, Reina is reportedly desperate to leave Anfield before transfer deadline day, and is reportedly trying to the convince the Reds to release him from his current contract.
According to The Independent today:
* €6m-rated Reina has even asked LFC his to terminate his contract
* AC Milan are interested, but are put off by his £100k a week wage demands.
Irrespective of his last couple of years at Anfield, Reina still has great ability, and based on the results of a recent site poll, a large section of LFC fans still have faith in Spaniard.
Unfortunately for him, Rodgers' apparent preference for Mignolet means that he is destined to spend the upcoming season on the bench. Just look at Brad Jones - he didn't make a single appearance in the league last season, and that's the fate that probably awaits Reina.
It's also possible that Rodgers is holding a slight grudge against Reina. When asked in April about the possibility of his return, he told the Liverpool Echo:
"He [Reina] wrote a goodbye letter, didn't he? I was surprised at the letter - when you are a loan player I would expect that he should come back, but obviously Pepe made it very clear when he went to Napoli that he was looking to move".
In my view, there is a smidgen of hostility to Rodgers' response, and with that in mind, it's hardly surprising that Reina - recently described by Benitez as ''exceptional'' - wants to leave.
One thing I don't get, though: if Reina is so desperate to secure a transfer, why doesn't he lower his wage demands? If, as reports suggest, he's dead-set on £100k a week, then there are very few clubs outside the Premier League who will pay that.
Surely Reina can survive on, say, £60K a week? That's still an obscene amount of money for a footballer to earn, and if he's refusing to accept a lower salary, then, quite frankly, he deserves to rot on the bench as punishment for his greed.
Author: Jaimie K
According to The Independent today:
* €6m-rated Reina has even asked LFC his to terminate his contract
* AC Milan are interested, but are put off by his £100k a week wage demands.
Irrespective of his last couple of years at Anfield, Reina still has great ability, and based on the results of a recent site poll, a large section of LFC fans still have faith in Spaniard.
Unfortunately for him, Rodgers' apparent preference for Mignolet means that he is destined to spend the upcoming season on the bench. Just look at Brad Jones - he didn't make a single appearance in the league last season, and that's the fate that probably awaits Reina.
It's also possible that Rodgers is holding a slight grudge against Reina. When asked in April about the possibility of his return, he told the Liverpool Echo:
"He [Reina] wrote a goodbye letter, didn't he? I was surprised at the letter - when you are a loan player I would expect that he should come back, but obviously Pepe made it very clear when he went to Napoli that he was looking to move".
In my view, there is a smidgen of hostility to Rodgers' response, and with that in mind, it's hardly surprising that Reina - recently described by Benitez as ''exceptional'' - wants to leave.
One thing I don't get, though: if Reina is so desperate to secure a transfer, why doesn't he lower his wage demands? If, as reports suggest, he's dead-set on £100k a week, then there are very few clubs outside the Premier League who will pay that.
Surely Reina can survive on, say, £60K a week? That's still an obscene amount of money for a footballer to earn, and if he's refusing to accept a lower salary, then, quite frankly, he deserves to rot on the bench as punishment for his greed.
Author: Jaimie K
crazy to hand reina 100 grand a week to start with if im honest id terminate and get him off the bill immediately
ReplyDeletePersonally I want rid even if it means terminating his contract. Reina has had his time at Liverpool and he has spiralled into serious decline. Not only has he been poor for Liverpool for the last few seasons he was poor last year at Napoli hence why they aren't willing to spend big on him. He needs to realise his best years are well behind him and he is going to have to take a pay cut to reflect this and get the move he clearly wants.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your point about BR being hostile to him I think it's fully deserved. He kept banging on about his dream move to Barca. I can understand he wanted to return home but he should have kept his mouth shut in public until there was an acceptable offer from Barca then fine go but don't start publicly pining for it.
Snide parting shot aside, he lost games for LFC and for Napoli, as mush as people have issues with Ming for last seasons numbers, he didn't lose us games... If Reina wasn't so quick to let BR know that if Barca come calling he's off, he might still be here with a chance of playing... Should lower his wage demands and he'll find a club quick enough...
ReplyDeleteHope he stays one of my favourites, but there seems to be bad blood between the manager and player. Still can't see why Rodgers doesn't rate him his distribution is second to none. But I agree with you on the greed front absolutely absurd
ReplyDeleteAgree with your points, but Mignolet did lose LFC games; specifically, Chelsea and Man City in Decmeber. He made 2 mistakes in those games that led directly to LFC losing.
ReplyDeleteYeh Mignolet is far from perfect but as he's younger, 25, I think he still has the potential to improve. Reina on the other hand has been in decline for a few seasons now.
ReplyDeleteHe can lose games with silly mistakes, he told BR he wanted to leave if Barca came calling, showing LFC didn't mean all that much to him. and he wrote a bizarre good bye letter slating BR when he should have known he was likely to return off a loan... seems clear to me
ReplyDeletei dont think mingo is any real improvement but hes younger , rogers rates him and im assuming he aint on 100g
ReplyDeleteMakes sense, that 100 k a week would be better used in attack
ReplyDeletethey should spend hours on mingos distribution on the training ground because he cant kick a ball for toffee
ReplyDeleteIf P Reina(31) is so desperate to leave he should lower his excessive wage demands and then he will be sold. And club can recoupe £4-£5M due to his sale.
ReplyDeleteB Rodgers needs to bring in A Mccarthy(24) Of Reading for £3-£5M to compete and Cover S Mignolet(25) as S Mignolet(25) cost us in a few games last season ( Chelsea and Man City Away) ( A Villa at Home)
Not sure which mistake in Chelsea game you refer to, but Sterlings disallowd goal would have drawn or won that City match, Mings mistake was unfortunate, and in essense we lost because it was a 2nd goal, but I put our loss down to dodgy officials not Ming...
ReplyDeleteThink he was at fault for eto's goal
ReplyDeleteReina made it clear to the club that Barcelona was coming for him and then when the plan backfired when Valdes said he was staying Reina claimed its was not his decision to leave LFC.
ReplyDeleteDo you blame Rodgers for his treatment towards Reina?
I don't remember that one, probably because it was chavski, but if so, I concede 2 mistakes in 1 great season, Reina is a perennial game loser..
ReplyDeletelets just get shut off the guy, everyweek hes here the club lose 100g ...and im sorry doing a cross bar challenge doesnt justify it, this guy is a clear indication of liverpools crazy wage and transfer structure.
ReplyDeleteIt was unfortunate because those two games sent us from 1st to 5th, so everything bad got noticed. I thought Mignolet had a decent first season
ReplyDeleteHis kicking is really poor to be fair which was why I was so surprised BR plumped for him. I actually can't see it improving greatly either which isn't ideal.
ReplyDeleteOur capitulation to Palace and loss to Chavski at the end of the season lost us the title, but I agree it's only the bad that some like to remember... Me I prefer the optmistic approach..
ReplyDeleteBut also Pepe was quite awful his last season for Liverpool; and what I have read from web, he make a lot of errors during last season too
ReplyDeleteI think we are in need of a new #2, I like Koen Casteel of Hoffenhiem...
ReplyDeleteit seems to me (and i'm guessing) Reina threw a hissy fit when he was replaced and took his ball home instead of manning up and fighting for his place, now he wants LFC to throw away £4 million to help him secure a move?? is he taking the P***? buy out your contract or lower your wage demands!! i think he has a damned cheek!
ReplyDeleteThis guy is greedy selfish shameless. he wants Liverpool to lose everything so he and the team he goes to gain everything. he should be gone by now but wont take a cut in pay he is squeezing the 100 grand a week to the very end, he left and got his eye wiped served him right - don't give him a free.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, you choose to bury your head in the sand, and ignore the reality that's staring you in the face. Whether you like it or not, Mignolet made two errors in those games that led to winning goals for Chelsea and City. Those defeats derailed LFC's momentum, and sent the club from 1st to 5th. It's not a question of positive or negative; it's a fact.
ReplyDeletetheres a saying in business regarding old stock your first offer is your best offer
ReplyDeleteMignolet made more than two mistakes; those two are the most glaring.
ReplyDeleteCan see it now.. His contract is terminated, he refuses to lower his wage demands, nobody signs him.
ReplyDeleteI'm just watching our game against Milan and I'm becoming more optimistic. Can is a monster at only 20. Just need a striker - hopefully we can impress Reus on Saturday :-)
ReplyDeleteyou know what im not blaming pepe im blaming the idiots who handed him the contract ...
ReplyDeletewho cares as long as hes off the wage bill
ReplyDeleteWe're talking mistakes leading to goals.. and he didn't do that as often as people would like to believe...Bit like the flak Sakho gets, he never made a mistake that led to a goal either, but people still slate him..
ReplyDeleteIt is not that simple. terminating a contract involves money.
ReplyDeleteReina still gas two years left on his contract. Do the sums.
Absolutely right. We offered him and others stupid money - he's entitled to it.
ReplyDeletethe way i read it is that its a simple termination and we go our separate ways we dont get a fee he can negotiate with a club
ReplyDeleteGreat thing about football is it's played by humans and not robots, makes it unpredictable and exciting, and yes sometimes extremely frustrating, but I wouldn't have it any other way..
ReplyDeleteI am not even going to bother.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I read it too mate
ReplyDeleteand its still going on ...talk of extending Gerrards contract and giving a contract to kelly when he was injured its crazy
ReplyDeleteI would prefer a new and better goalkeeper please! why we didn't get Vorm i will never know!!
ReplyDeleteSo why does he not then just lower his wage demands and he can get his move to Napoli.
ReplyDeleteRafa has told him to lower his wage demands yet he is still at LFC.
Terminating his contact would then involve money otherwise he would be gone by now.
Simple.
I agree with Brian Clough, if you want a champion team start with the best goalkeeper you can afford! hence Peter Shilton.
ReplyDeleteYou could argue Gerrard has earned it, but I agree with the point you make
ReplyDeleteIf Liverpool terminate his contract he'll find a new club even quicker AND keep his £100K a week. Given the animosity what would you do?
ReplyDeletePersonally I can quite understand why someone might want to have the chance to play for the club they supported as a boy. As a football fan rather than a player I can appreciate that wish.
may be i read it wrong if pepe expects us to pay his final two years id dress him as donald duck and have him washing cars for two years on the club car park
ReplyDeleteSuch a difficult situation this. Reina at his best is much better than Mings. The Reina who left was getting at near post all the time and making just as many mistakes. I would love for Reina to find form and a way back in the side. I like Mings but he certainly had some dodgy mid way through the season. The city game sticks in my mind now for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteI think he would get a signing on fee instead of us getting a transfer fee, then he accepts 60k a week say, but is not financially any worse off
ReplyDeleteVorm is ok but not the world beater and for sure a not so much better keeper than Mignolet...
ReplyDeleteAgree his kicking is poor but he's slow to move the ball too. With the fast players we have he should be thinking and acting more quickly.
ReplyDeletebut we are not a charity we have a crazy attitude with money
ReplyDeleteHaven't expressed the idea that I care about it at any point buddy..
ReplyDeleteAgreed
ReplyDeleteNot a better keeper at all mate.
ReplyDeletei didnt mean it like that more of lets just get rid off him
ReplyDeleteLet's be fair, Pepe and Liverpool agreed the contract, if it's going to be torn up, there will need to be compromise on both sides.
ReplyDeleteI'd argue that he's a better keeper, in all aspects than Mingolet, who for me is ordinary.
His general distribution, and in particular kicking are poor. He never dominates his area, he isn't vocal enough, he is PATHETIC on crosses and he is slow off his line.
Yes, he's an excellent shot stopper, but they all are.
Buy Cech ...
That's the trouble with stats they can only deal with direct consequences. Poor play and poor decision making can undermine the entire defence.
ReplyDeleteLike I said. If Reina was willing to lower his wage demands then he would have been at Napoli already. Rafa made it as clear as daylight that Reina is earning to much. If Reina is not willing to lower his wage demands then what does a signing on fee have to do with it all? Oh, so LFC should just let Reina leave with us rolling out the red carpet for him?
ReplyDeleteor he could do a winston bogard sit in the stands for two years at 100 g a week x 104 which equates to us losing a lot of money which we could spend elsewhere ...pride before a fall and all that
ReplyDeleteit wasn't Pepe's fault if Parry & co is offereing him to more money, is it? and that time Arsenal was really interested to buy Reina, so new contract was the carrot for Pepe to continue for Pool
ReplyDeleteWe will lose much more money by giving in to Reina which is exactly what he wants.
ReplyDeleteHe knows where the door is, we do not have to show it to him.
No, I hate Cech with his helmet
ReplyDeleteIn this case, terminating a contract will not involve money. LFC will be under no obligation to pay-up the remaining 2 years of Reina's contract, and he'd have to be the world's biggest fool to go to the club and demand that to leave the club.
ReplyDeleteLogically, he just wants out of his deal, and that just means allowing him exit the contract now, instead of two years from now, with no pay off.
Think we will see an improvement this season. I honestly would have felt sorry for any keeper lining up in our goal when looking back at last season.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I wasn't clear. If Reina got a signing on fee as a free agent, he could accept lower wages and not necessarily financially worse off. We then forego a fee but don't have to pay out the remaining 10m pounds in his contract.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you on about? How will LFC lose money by terminating Reina's contract? What you're suggesting has not basis in reality.
ReplyDeleteSo you lose up to £5M transfer fee and you pay him £10m or so in wages to get your cars cleaned with a brillo pad?
ReplyDeleteHardly mistakes. Keepers do get beaten
ReplyDeleteBut why is he still at Anfield? By now he could have lowered his wage demands and moved to Napoli on a permanent basis.
ReplyDeleteRafa spoke about this many weeks age.
He is still here.
In your opinion. Not fact
ReplyDeleteNo, it is an irrefutable fact. Mignolet made two mistakes in those matches that led to winning goals for City and Chelsea. Prior to those mistakes - and they *are* mistakes), both games were 1-1. After the mistakes, LFC lost both games.
ReplyDeleteWell we could pay him £10M to sit on the bench I suppose......
ReplyDeleteThe Negredo one was awful, and the Eto one was questionable
ReplyDeleteFor the love of God, what does this have to do with the comment to which you're replying?! Absolutely nothing. Stay on point with something relevant, or don't bother responding to my posts.
ReplyDeletethats logans masterplan haha
ReplyDeleteBut that means we are letting him go meaning we have to pay him out. He legally has two years left on his contract.
ReplyDeleteHe is still at Anfield.
Liverpool would lose any transfer fee
ReplyDeletenot if its a mutual termination which is what hes requesting
ReplyDeleteNo it doesn't. He and the club terminate the last two years
ReplyDeleteMutual my behind. Why does he just not lower his wage demands and he will get his move to Napoli.
ReplyDeleteWhy is he stalling?
That's the party line but perhaps Liverpool wanted rid just as much and tried to push him out early to save money.
ReplyDeleteSpot on. This is blindingly obvious.
ReplyDeletelogan google mutual termination which benefits both parties and see what comes up
ReplyDeleteThought I was going mad for a minute there :-)
ReplyDeleteyou say tomato logan says tomato haha
ReplyDeleteI like Reina. It's a shame it's all ending this way. I bet he can't believe how things have turned to sh*t for him since Valdes did his u-turn. Mind you, I'm never going to feel sorry for someone getting paid £5m a year for doing f all!
ReplyDeleteTrue so why would he do that when he can use the transfer fee as a bargaining tool against the cost of his wages.
ReplyDeleteI suppose he could just lower his wages as a goodwill gesture to BR (41) who hates him.
It's difficult to feel entirely sorry for anyone involved in this.
ReplyDeletebut the reality is no one is gonna pay 6m and 100 g aweek wages for reina hes a 30 -50g player tops and that pushing it its just that we handed him a crazy deal
ReplyDeleteOr they offset the £5M transfer fee they would have had to pay for him against the cost of his wages and so they sign him.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. The sooner they all shake hands and move on the better.
ReplyDeleteThat's the bargaining point.
ReplyDeleteIf he can lose the transfer fee the new club (Napoli - I bet) can afford to pay him higher wages.
1. Reina knows he can leave.
ReplyDelete2. LFC do not want him.
3. Naopli know this
4. Rafa has told Reina to lower his wage demands
5. He can go for a reported £4 milliion
6. That is a very reasonable price
7. Many clubs will be willing to take Reina at that price
8. LFC keeping Reina against his will?
9. Which club wants to pay Reina £100k a week?
10. What is keeping Reina at Anfield?
11. A mutual agreement?
1 You just don't get it
ReplyDelete2 You just don't get it
3 You just don't get it
4
Reina and LFC agree to call it quits. Reina packs his bags and LFC cut their losses.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Reina have to do next to join Napoli or anther club?
OK sorry you do get it now,
ReplyDeleteThe cost to Liverpool though is the loss of a transfer fee which they would like as well as getting him off the wage bill.
Oh but Napoli would have to pay the loss LFC incured to Reina anyway?
ReplyDeleteDo you see where I am going?
Rafa, ?
ReplyDeleteBasically of Reina stays we lose 10M on wages. If we sell him we gain 4M plus saving 10M on wages. If his contract is mutually terminated we save 10M. I'm happy with either the second or third option, the first is incomprehensible.
ReplyDeleteIf Napoli can get him on a free who knows they may be willing to pay him a bit more so he doesn't have to lower his wages so much.
As much as I agree there was not enough protection the run of bad form was largely his own mistakes. I do believe distribution can improve and he looked quicker off his line at the end of the season too. If he dominates his box more and improves distribution then that is already looking good. Cut ot the mistakes too and he will be a really good keeper but that is quite a bit of hoping to be honest.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think FSG want to go with option one?
ReplyDeleteOption two will result in Reina having to take a wage reduction as well as option three.
Do you think Reina wants to go with option two or three if Rafa has insisted that they are not willing to pay what Reina is earning at Anfield?
Yes except Liverpool WOULD (not may) lose the right to any transfer fee as they would no longer have his contract.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand they might be able to negotiate with Reina and Napoli to sell him for a smaller fee than they would otherwise
Up vote for the BR (41).
ReplyDeleteTrue, but how about the games he saved us from losing. Stoke for example
ReplyDeleteSpot on
ReplyDeleteUp vote from me as well :)
ReplyDeleteThat is if Reina wants to terminate his contract. How do we know he isn't expecting his loyalty bonus?
ReplyDeleteYes but you forget that Gerrard will earn us back as much as he makes, purely because of who he is
ReplyDeleteI imagine FSG certainly don't want to go with option one which is why they will no doubt be thinking very hard if the rumours are true about Reina asking the club to terminate his contract. We just can't have him sitting on his arse earning 10M.
ReplyDeleteBoth options 2 and 3 would no doubt necessitate a drop in wage demand, however, I believe option 3 would be more attractive to Reina as say Napoli were willing to pay him 60k a week if they had to pay a transfer fee they may then stretch to say 80k if they got him for free.
IMO I'd be more than happy with option 3 at this stage in the window.
Keep trying you're doing well
ReplyDeleteBut we are talking about the remainder of a £10 million contract that Reina will be willing to give up.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me who will be more willing to walk away happily even if the reported fee LFC are asking for Reina is only £4 million.
LFC willing to lose £4 million or let Reina be on holiday earning £10 million?
Mutual agreement?
He needs to drop his wage demands, and then go somewhere else and earn back his 100k a week.
ReplyDeleteTry again?
ReplyDeleteThe last I heard he was prepared to pay Napoli the transfer fee from his own savings and to forgo any wages for the first two years. At last he has seen sense :-)
ReplyDeleteAs I have posted elsewhere I have just read that he is now prepared to pay Napoli the transfer free from his own savings and to forgo any wages for two years.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness he has seen sense at last
This is probably the best outcome for all parties
ReplyDeleteI think the owners know Reina will not want to sit on the bench, as what is lest of his career will be shot to pieces. They are playing hard ball and probably think they will get money back for him and are probably convinced that Reina will give in to his wage demands and move on rather than rot on the bench
ReplyDeleteSeems you are right. Credit where its due.
ReplyDelete6 - Simon Mignolet made a league-high six errors leading to goals last season in the Premier League. Fumble. #AskOpta
True but we have been stitched up by Rafa and Reina
ReplyDeleteI am sure you read the post of mine that was removed. Have a look at your email and let me know what your reply is mate.
ReplyDeleteYea we have but we need his wages off the wage bill
ReplyDeleteI doubt it was just Rafa. I'm not convinced managers have much input on wages. He probably just said make sure you sign Reina to a knew contract and the money men do the rest.
ReplyDeleteThey are all playing poker and no one wants to blink first.
ReplyDeleteWe want a transfer fee and to save his wages. Nepoli want to pay as little as possible for him and lower his wages. Pepe wants to play ( probably for Napoli) and to keep as much of his wages as possible.
I will believe it when I see it ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou might be right but I think Rafa is very shrewd and a bit of a control freak.
ReplyDeleteMy reply has gone as well. It was along the lines of my poker game comment to Dan :-)
ReplyDeleteYou joke:-). Nothing would surprise me any more.
ReplyDeleteMate Simon was in his first season and he is a young keeper. Give it a rest and remove the blinkers, pepe was shit in the
ReplyDeleteSay 2 years at Anfield
Ha ha that's very true.
ReplyDeletestaying here for him was a second choice ?
ReplyDeleteReina has options lower his wage demands and secure a move. The initial alternative presented to him was to fight for his place as BR wanted competition for places - Reina chose the third option which was to pimp himself out to Barca and now he's left somewhere in No- mans land. Get rid.
ReplyDeleteJust being pig headed with regards to wage demands ? If no one signs him then its his own fault..
ReplyDelete