Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has announced his retirement from professional football, almost 25 years after making his debut for Barcelona.
Reina announced his decision to retire in an interview with Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus+, explaining that “the time has come.”
It comes after a season with Como 1907 in Serie A, making 12 appearances for a club which represented the ninth of his long and decorated career.
Prior to his free transfer to Como, Reina’s career took him to Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Napoli, AC Milan, Aston Villa, Lazio and back to Villarreal.
He played 910 times at senior club level as well as earning 36 caps for Spain, winning eight major trophies including the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Super Cup with Liverpool.
Now 42, he can count one World Cup and two European Championship medals among his honours, as well as three Premier League Golden Glove awards.
Reina was named Liverpool’s Player of the Season in 2009/10, and he made by far his most appearances for the Reds than any other club in his career.
Signed from Villarreal in 2005, the Spaniard went on to play 394 times for Liverpool, keeping 177 clean sheets, which remains the third-most of any goalkeeper in the club’s history.
“A beautiful career is ending, a complete life,” Reina told Movistar Plus+.
“I feel very lucky for what I’ve experienced, it’s been a lot of years. I didn’t expect it, but I think the time has come and I want to end it here.
“There was a moment where I had a hard time last summer because I couldn’t find a project that excited me.
“I had more to offer and this year has been the one that has made me see that I’m done now, in the sense that I no longer have much to offer from this position.
“I am very lucky, it has been a privilege.”
Reina will now embark on a career in coaching, with no move lined up as of yet but with plans to begin at youth level before graduating to a senior role.
In that respect he follows in the footsteps of Liverpool teammates such as Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Alvaro Arbeloa.
While his politics have certainly divided opinion in recent years Reina’s career deserves to be celebrated among the most distinguished in recent history – having retired at the top level just three months before his 43rd birthday.
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