Liverpool legend Pepe Reina considered quitting the club just two weeks after his $8 million move from Villareal, with the keeper recalling a honest conversation with his wife
Pepe Reina joined Liverpool in 2005 and spent eight years at Anfield(Image: Getty Images)
Pepe Reina has reflected on his early days at Liverpool, admitting that the weather made for a “terrible” introduction to life in England after his 2005 arrival from Villarreal.
Reina joined the club shortly after Liverpool’s famous 2005 Champions League triumph over AC Milan and quickly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper, replacing Jerzy Dudek. However, he has revealed that adapting to the club was not immediate, with the notoriously wet British conditions proving a significant early challenge.
After eight years at Anfield, Reina said he eventually came to understand the importance of helping new arrivals settle into life at the club, drawing on his own experience of a difficult transition period. Meanwhile, Reina’s former teammate Xabi Alonso has been shortlisted for the Chelsea job.
READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold gets brutal Real Madrid verdict as Dani Carvajal reaction speaks volumesREAD MORE: Newcastle ready to cut its losses on Alexander Isak replacement after $74M mistake
“Being honest, I wanted to come back to Spain because of the weather,” Reina admitted on That Peter Crouch Podcast of his first impression. “The first two weeks, they were terrible.
“And I continued looking to my wife. I said: ‘Listen, are you really sure about where we will be coming for the next four years?’ It was raining, p—— down two weeks in a row, mid July. ‘Ah, no worries. The the weather will change. We’ll be fine,’ [she said].
“And because of her insistence and patience, the weather never changed, but it was two years so-so and then we lived here eight years.”
Reina has also spoken about the importance he placed on helping build a strong dressing-room culture at Liverpool, particularly as a player whose first language was not English. Reflecting on his own experience of adapting after joining the club, Reina highlighted the need for new signings to quickly immerse themselves in the environment.
Liverpool legend Pepe Reina had more than a few doubts when he first joined the club.(Image: Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)
“I think to be an important member of a dressing room is to build the spirit, to build good connections, good human relations,” Reina emphasized. “I’ve been all my career fixed in that to create a good atmosphere.
“If you go to another country or different culture, just get yourself in a position to understand and learn the quickest you can. I think it’s what brought later on in my career, always good memories for whichever team I played [for] or whoever was my teammate, or whatever country it was.”
READ MORE: 3 Man Utd stars at risk of missing Liverpool game as Matheus Cunha update givenREAD MORE: Jurgen Klopp gives honest assessment of Florian Wirtz’s first season at Liverpool
Reina announced his retirement from professional football last summer at the age of 42, which brought to an end a 26-year career spent at the highest level of the game.
The former Spain international enjoyed a decorated spell across Europe, winning major honors with several top clubs and achieving notable success on the international stage. Widely respected for his leadership and professionalism, Reina’s retirement marked the conclusion of an era for a goalkeeper known as much for his influence in the dressing room as his performances on the pitch.