Pepe Reina’s days as a Liverpool player are coming to an end.
Reina is close to completing a transfer from Liverpool to Bayern Munich, according to the German club.
The clubs have successfully negotiated a transfer fee, Reina and Bayern Munich have agreed on contract terms, and the Spanish goalkeeper will fly to Germany for a physical imminently.
The transfer will end Reina’s Liverpool career after nine years and 394 games.
On Tuesday, Bayern Munich announced it had reached a deal with Liverpool to buy Reina for a fee worth around £2.5 million ($4.2 million), according to the Guardian.
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Reina will serve as the backup to Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich, while Tom Starke likely will be the German giant’s third-choice goalkeeper.
“Pepe Reina really wanted to join Bayern Munich,” Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club website. “He was prepared to undertake this adventure, although he knows he has Manuel Neuer ahead of him, a first-choice keeper who will, provided nothing untoward happens, remain number one.”
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Reina joined Liverpool from Villarreal in 2005. He slotted straight into the starting lineup and helped the Reds win the UEFA Supercup in 2005, the FA Cup in 2006 and the League Cup in 2012. Reina held his position as Liverpool’s No. 1 for eight seasons in total, claiming three Premier League Golden Glove Awards (2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08) in the process.
Reina’s Liverpool career reached a turning point last summer when manager Brendan Rodgers allowed him to spend the 2013-14 season on loan at Italian club Napoli, while Simon Mignolet arrived from Sunderland and assumed the job as Liverpool’s starting goalkeeper. Napoli was interested in signing Reina permanently but couldn’t reach an agreement with Liverpool.
Reina was one of Liverpool’s highest earners, and his transfer removes a hefty salary from the Reds’ books. It also leaves Mignolet as Liverpool’s undisputed No. 1, and the Reds likely will look to sign another goalkeeper (to offer him both competition and a capable deputy) before the transfer window closes on Aug. 31.
