Pepe Reina, former Liverpool goalkeeper and winner of both the World Cup and the European Championship, has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of the current season.
Now 42 years old, Reina has struggled with form and has spent most of this season on the bench. All signs were pointing toward the end, and Reina has now confirmed that he will be hanging up his gloves once the season concludes.
Reina came through the youth academy at Barcelona and joined Villarreal in 2002. After three seasons with the Spanish side, he moved to English Premier League club Liverpool.
He spent the majority of his career at Anfield, making 394 appearances across all competitions over eight seasons. During that time, he won the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Reina’s first three seasons at Liverpool were especially outstanding. He won the Premier League Golden Glove three times in a row for keeping the most clean sheets each season.
After leaving Liverpool, Reina went on to play for Bayern Munich, Napoli, and AC Milan. In July last year, he signed with Italian club Como, but this season he has made only 12 appearances.
Reina made his international debut for Spain in 2005. He earned 36 caps and kept 21 clean sheets during his time with the national team.
He was a member of Spain’s 2010 World Cup-winning squad and also part of the teams that won the European Championships in 2008 and 2012. However, he had limited playing time in those tournaments, featuring in just one match in both the World Cup and the Euros.
Como will play their final Serie A match of the season this Friday against Inter Milan. It’s still unclear whether Reina will play in that match. However, what is certain is that this will be his final season. He confirmed his decision in an interview with Movistar on Monday:
“A wonderful career is coming to an end—one that has been fulfilling in every way. I feel very lucky for everything I’ve experienced.”
“I didn’t expect a career like this, but I feel the time has come. It feels right to end it here.”
After his playing career ends, Reina plans to start a new journey in coaching.
