There was a lot made in the press today about comments made by Pepe Reina in an interview where he spoke about his LFC future.
A few sensationalist headlines made even myself worry we were on the very brink of losing a legend and stalwart. However, as with many stories about LFC, we have to take these latest ones with a pinch of salt.
The following quotations can be found in an article by the Echo;
“I signed a six-year deal seven months ago and I’m happy at the club, but every footballer wants to be competing for trophies and winning things.
“I will stay at Liverpool at least until the end of the season.
“I know there are rumours about me leaving but I want to make it clear that I have no intention of going back to Spain.”
Pepe Reina is not a want away disenchanted disillusioned footballer, openly admitting to wanting to abandon his team. Unfortunately, this is what has been portrayed by the press – another example of shoddy journalism at it’s very best.
In the simplest of senses this is just an incident where an employee is admitting that he will be partaking in some self assessment at the end of his working year. Something which is a fundamental right of every individual in any walk of life and something we can all definitely relate to.
Let us put it this way. At the end of every year in a job or business, we sit down and evaluate our successes, failures and potential to improve. We owe it to ourselves to assess if we are were we want to be, if we are being taken seriously and if there is a chance for us to take the next step upwards.
Now, whether you are a boxer, baker businessman or accountant, when you sit down and make your choice to stay or leave, it is your fundamental right to do so.
Therefore, for Pepe Reina to be labeled as a want away simply for admitting that at the end of his working year, he will sit down and assess himself, is a massive disservice to him. Not just as a footballer, but as a human being.
When Pepe Reina sits down at the end of the year, I pray he will see that it is at LFC that his heart lies and that it is at LFC that he sees potential for his own improvement.
Pepe Reina is one of the squad’s most influential individuals. He is a great motivator who leads by example and his buoyant character and bubbly personality have made him a Kop favourite. Oh and he is a damn good goalkeeper too, having pipped Petr Cech to the Golden Gloves 4 times already! Pepe is charisma personified and without a doubt one of the players around whom the future of LFC should be built.
So. Whether Pepe leaves or stays and I sincerely hope it is the latter, I will respect him for being true to himself and for being the honest individual that he is. Honesty and integrity are two traits very nearly extinct in the world of football, but in Pepe Reina we have a player honest enough to stand up for what he believes. Chapeau Pepe.
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Well, this is not the time to be talking about the Pepman leaving. We need to stay focused on winning and only on winning!!!!! I strongly dislike the media for trying to put us off the track once again… So, lets stop the discussion on players leaving and talk about the match coming up tomorrow night!
This can’t be put down to shoddy journalism for once he definitely said the quotes attributed to him and thats the worry he is irreplacable as he is the best in the world lets hope we don’t slip again because anything less than top 4 could see the best keeper we’ve ever had (including Clemence)leave and i for 1 will be devastated
Rubbish! It is not his right to decide if he should stay or go. he signed a contract for six years, therefore agreeing to stay for six years before deciding if he should stay or go. I hope he stays but this was a bad quote to give. It just emphasises the ‘player power’ revolution. It makes a mockery of the idea of a contract if he can ‘choose’ to leave when the people who own his contract don’t want him to go.
Not a player we could do with losing,no matter how strong or weak our outfield personnel is! Arguably the best keeper we have had,and one of the top 4 in the world,hope we as a club can match his ambitions and sway him towards staying.
Whatever happens he’s not going to the Manure or the Arsenholes if Hodgson wants to keep his job.
Jason you’re right but contracts are worthless if a player decides to go they go simple as but lets give Reina more credit than that he’s not a mercenary football he’s just ambitious and he wants Liverpool to be as ambitious and with all the bollox about major rebuilding being quoted by Hodgson he like everyone else can see the excuses coming if we don’t make the champions league he wants what we want success at Anfield
He better not go …
We will win something this year most deff as we are looking good recently and that will hopefully forget about leaving.
Pepe jose Reina in you we trust ;-)
I think Pepe is just like some of us. He doesn’t trust owners anymore. After all the new owners have said he still doesn’t believe that they are going to invest in the squad. If he’s thinking he’s going to reassess at the end of the season, it sounds like he’s looking for that investment to come in January. Let’s hope we get some investment in January. However maybe he’s just being emotional (or calculated) and he won’t feel the same at all in 6 months.
Pepe is great but why can’t he keep his thoughts to himself. Just when we’re on a roll he says something like this.
You can never be a decent writer if you haven’t got the faintest idea what the difference is between “it’s” and “its”.
Pepe should stay
Were going real well here
He cant just ditch Liverpool can he?
this is rubbish
if he goes to manchester or chelsea ill be trying to kill roy hodgson next
jks but pepe should not leave
There is plenty of time before the end of the season and I believe Liverpool will be up among the best by that time. So let`s focus on the present and back the side NOW to have a strong ending and such talk would be forgotten
Well I think he was probably asked leading questions and he has responded in an honest way. A bit annoying for fellow LFC fans that he thinks it is ok to say, “if we are struggling I will leave to try and win more trophies elsewhere”. On the one hand they make out it is not about the money…..but then sign a 6 year contract guaranteeing a small fortune.
When we were struggling at the beginning of the season it could be put down to many factors, new manager and philosophy, low confidence carried forward from last season, just too many players out of form…. but all we heard were off the field issues, too many players wondering if they should not shoulder responsibility and jump ship after signing big contracts which put the club into a difficult situation in the 1st place. LFC pays well, so the players should respect that and commit to these contracts.
Great goalkeeper but not bigger than the club, anymore than Stevie saying the same. In my opinion right up there with the best we’ve ever had, but if he decided to “evaluate his future” then I would be annoyed at that too. Work your contract and your “right” is to not sign an extension and then take your chances once it runs out!
That said, funny how we have hardly any extra players back in for the Chelsea game but the good players we have had all along, look like a team and certainly for the 1st half put Chelsea to the sword and in a couple of weeks we could be sitting 4th. How many of these rumours will continue then? It’ll be interesting if these players are happy with champions league or really push on as LFC should to challenge, and supercede Aresenal etc to compete for the league title.
He is better than both Frey and Buffon in their prime who both commanded huge transfer fees for a GK. If we do sell him, it has to be for a minimum of £20million+!
We can then go and buy Shay Given who will give us two to three seasons experience whilst Hansen, Gulacsi and Jones get upto speed.
Pepe is one of our most committed players, I personally cant see him leaving.
I cant help but feel these comments are only brinkmanship.
This is just his way of applying pressure on our new owners.
I doubt he’ll leave… he just wants what we want, investment in our squad.