Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Reina Pledges Future To Liverpool

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has declared his intention to stay at Anfield next season, claiming the club is ready to compete for trophies once more.

Reina's future has been the subject of speculation and he appeared to be dissatisfied by Liverpool's struggles earlier this season. But the club have regained their status as a Premier League force since Kenny Dalglish took over from Roy Hodgson in January following the takeover by Fenway Sports Group.

Although European qualification might be out of Liverpool's reach for next season, Reina is pleased with the way the club is heading and vowed to be a part of what he believes could be a successful new era.

Reina, 28, told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope: "I am happy, calm and comfortable here. I am looking towards the future which I reckon will bring a lot of happiness and hopefully the new project with the new American owners will be a convincing one. Obviously [Rafael] Benítez brought me here but that doesn't mean that I'm unhappy with Dalglish, quite the opposite. I think he's the ideal man for Liverpool at this moment.

"It's my understanding, and based on what I've gathered from the people here, that we will be bringing in some important players, continuing to grow and hopefully in one or two years we will be in the place that Liverpool deserves to be, which is fighting for titles."

The retirement of Edwin van der Sar at Manchester United is one factor that has sparked talk of a possible Reina exit but Liverpool fans will be pleased to hear the goalkeeper has no plans to join their rivals at Old Trafford.

"I am not going to Manchester, that is not my intention," he said. "I don't know if I am a candidate for them; I am sure that they have evaluated a lot of goalkeepers, not just [David] De Gea or Reina."

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