Reina: I’m so grateful to Reds
The Spain goalkeeper released an open letter to Reds’ fans on his website on Monday, expressing his regret that the Reds had loaned him out to Napoli without telling him first.
But, in an interview with Spanish radio show El Larguero, he sought to clarify his thoughts about his time at Anfield.
“I’m not angry with Liverpool — quite the opposite. I am very grateful to them for everything they have given me,” he said.
“My departure was different to what I expected, but I will always be grateful to them.
“This is the nature of football — when you are loved by a team, you really feel it, but when you go through bad moments, you are treated differently. In the end I will remember the love I felt from the fans for so many years.
“My time in England is where I have felt truly like a footballer and I have put my name among the best players. I’m very proud to have played almost 400 games with Liverpool.
“I’ll remember the friends I made in and outside the dressing room. Trophies stay in the cabinet gathering dust, but friends are for life.”
The goalkeeper explained that Liverpool arranged his loan move to Naples behind his back, but the presence of former Reds boss Rafael Benitez, with whom he worked for five seasons on Merseyside, convinced him to agree to the move.
“The signing wasn’t sealed, because you can’t do that without the consent of the player, but it was at an advanced stage and I didn’t know about it,” he said.
“Rafael Benitez is the best coach I have had. I don’t know if I’d have joined Napoli without him being there. There are many positive things about the city of Napoli and they have a fervent support, like Liverpool’s, but Benitez being there made it much easier for me to sign.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claims Luis Suarez “totally understands” the club’s firm stance in their insistence not to entertain any offers for the striker.
Arsenal have had two bids rejected, the last one of £40 million plus £1 which they believed would trigger a sale clause.
Liverpool have always maintained they merely had to inform the player of offers of that magnitude and have been steadfast in stating Suarez is not for sale.
They believe they are owed a degree of loyalty from the 26-year-old after standing by him during the race row with Patrice Evra which saw him banned for eight matches and during his current suspension of 10 games for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
The 26-year-old Uruguay international still appears keen to leave Anfield, although he has stopped short of submitting a transfer request or seeking legal recourse, but Rodgers said it had not affected his attitude
“It’s a story that can keep running but for me there is no new news,” Rodgers said.
“Luis is happy. He totally understands the club’s point of view. He’s in a difficult position in terms of not being able to play because of his suspension — he will sit out the first six games and he will miss playing football.
“But he’s working hard and remains part of the group. He hasn’t been moping about.
“It’s obviously difficult when you come back after a break but he has settled in and has been working well. He needs to get up to speed and we will continue to work to get all the players ready for the first game of the season.”
Suarez’s situation was the transfer saga of the summer until it was recently overtaken by Real Madrid’s pursuit of Tottenham’s Gareth Bale with hardly a day going by without him being in the headlines.
It was not helped with the player being on Confederations Cup duty which did not see him join up with the rest of the squad until he flew out to Australia on July 21 for their third pre-season friendly.
Rodgers is confident, however, it has not had a destabilising effect on the rest of the squad.
“It could have unsettled them but it hasn’t,” he added.
“It says a lot about their professionalism: the environment that we’re creating is that the star will always be the team.
“We want to have top players here but if for whatever reason we don’t, we will always know we can rely on the team and each other.
“The harmony in the group is very good. The spirit is strong. Right across the club there is a one club mentality.
“If we can keep it that way we can have a great season.”
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