The saga over Pepe Reina’s future took a further twist today with the keeper saying that he’s “here to stay” as Napoli refuse to meet Liverpool’s asking price for the Spanish keeper.
Former Reds' boss Rafa Benitez is reportedly keen to take the Spanish keeper to Naples permanently but not at the release clause set by the Reds, which according to the Telegraph is £3.95m. With no vacancies at any of the big Spanish clubs and seemingly very little interest from elsewhere, Reina has found himself back at Liverpool despite having written a farewell letter to the fans a year ago that also contained a parting shot at an unimpressed Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers reacted to questions about Reina’s future by saying yesterday “Pepe made it clear last year where he is at. We will see what happens over the next few weeks”. It would certainly appear that there is no way back for the former Barcelona and Villarreal keeper, with Liverpool reluctant to pay 100k a week for him to sit on the bench and Rodgers settled on Simon Mignolet as his number one.
Reina, however, claims he is going nowhere. "I have a contract to respect with Liverpool. I'm training well and I am perfectly fine with my team-mates," he said. "I am here to stay. I have not talked to Brendan Rodgers, I've been here for only four days and I am just thinking of training to my best and getting back into shape."
“All the big Spanish teams are covered in my role," he added. "I see it as very difficult to return to Spain. It's normal though that over the years you want to return to where you came from, so we'll see."
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