Liverpool stopper reveals Premier League snub
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has admitted that the club blocked him from completing a £20 million move to Arsenal in the summer of 2010.
The Spanish goalkeeper has revealed that he was tempted to leave Anfield when he returned from his international triumph in the World Cup last year. He claims that he returned to a club in a “downward spiral”.
He claims that that sacking of manager Rafa Benitez and the on-going problems with director Christian Purslow seeking new owners to replace Tom Hicks and George Gillet, left him disillusioned at the club.
Despite being a long server of the Kop, Reina was attracted to a move to the Emirates, however insists that Liverpool rejected a £20m bid from the Gunners, claiming that they feared his departure would dissuade potential buyers.
“I went from elation one minute to depression the next as the realisation dawned that Liverpool were going nowhere fast,” Reina has stated in his new autobiography.
“When I signed my contract in April 2010 I hoped that better times were just around the corner, a feeling that was fuelled by the promises of improvement from people at the club. It didn’t take me long to feel that their promises were hollow. I felt betrayed. Our owners were at war with each other, the club’s debts were spiralling out of control and a change in manager had failed to dispel the feeling that we were on the road to nowhere.”
The Liverpool stopper also admits that Arsene Wenger’s side were prepared to offer up to £20m for his services.
“Arsenal had made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper. Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future even if I did so with a heavy heart.”
The Liverpool goalkeeper added:
“When Liverpool received the bid, they rejected it. This was not because I had been told that I was too good a keeper to leave. The reason I was given was quite different – and it left me feeling down. I was told that my continued presence was crucial to the sale of the club. I was simply a bargaining chip in the sales process.”
