Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal

by MJ Sun Oct 09, 2011 8:34 am

The Spaniard could have moved to the Emirates after winning the World Cup with Spain last year but was denied a transfer as he was classed as a vital presence at Anfield

Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal Pepe+Reina-liverpool

Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal Pepe+Reina-liverpool

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed that Arsenal's £20 million offer for him in 2010 was rejected because the club's then owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett felt that the Spaniard's sale was the wrong signal to send to potential buyers.

After winning the World Cup with Spain last summer, Reina returned to Anfield under new boss Roy Hodgson but the club's boardroom fragility was still apparent as Hicks and Gillett sought new owners.

Reina has now conceded that he was willing to settle for a move to Arsene Wenger's side, albeit reluctantly, but insists that his transfer was blocked as he was seen as a valuable commodity for any buyer by Hicks and Gillett.

"Arsenal had made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper,” wrote Reina in his new autobiography. “Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future even if I did so with a heavy heart.

"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."

How would our lives be had we made this transfer?

by beatrixasdfghjk. Sun Oct 09, 2011 8:38 am

Already in Raptor's thread :coffee:

NO SZCZESNY.

Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal

Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal

Re: Pepe Reina: Hicks & Gillet Blocked My Move to Arsenal