KopTalk.com

Goodbye letter for Liverpool’s fans: “Thanks for everything, I will see you soon”



It is a strange feeling for me to think that next season I will not be a Liverpool player. For the past eight years, that is all I have known. The club, the staff, the city, the people and the supporters have played a massive part in my life. Liverpool is special in a way that only those who are lucky enough to experience the club close up can understand. It has given me memories that will live with me forever and friendships that will last just as long.

But more than anything else, it has given me an understanding of what it is like to play for the most wonderful English club. I may not have won as many trophies and medals as I would have liked since joining in 2005 but the experiences I have been a part of are as important as any silverware. I now understand how supporters can lift a team and inspire them to do special things. I appreciate that there is something unique about Anfield and the atmosphere it creates. I believe that anything is possible no matter what the situation is because at Liverpool there is no such thing as a lost cause. And I have been humbled by the fight for justice for the 96 which showed me that the Liverpool people will always fight for what they believe in.

I know that I have been blessed to be part of a Club like that and I hope that in return I have always given my best and represented Liverpool in the right way. There have been good times and bad times but no matter what the situation has been I hope that my passion has been clear. I have been asked what my favourite Liverpool moment was and if I had to pick one it wouldn’t be a save or winning a trophy. It would be my celebration against Manchester United when David Ngog scored a late goal. That is probably the quickest I have ever run in my life! It shows what playing for Liverpool meant to me and also that there was nothing better than winning a big game at Anfield. I used to look at the Kop when we scored those kind of goals in big games and I would be jealous of the supporters going crazy. If the closest I will get to that is running the length of the pitch and jumping on my team mates backs then that will do for me.



Obviously, I won’t be able to do that next season but I hope that the supporters and my team mates will be able to enjoy many more moments like that. They deserve the best of times and it would give me so much pleasure to see Liverpool back where they belong, challenging for trophies and getting back into the top four. That was where the club was when I first arrived and although I am leaving a different club, one with new owners, a new manager, new players and new challenges, I honestly believe that Liverpool can reach those levels again.

I am disappointed that I will not be part of that and although it was not my decision to leave I will accept it just like I have always accepted any decision that Liverpool have taken for me. They signed me, picked me, gave me some of the best experiences of my life and looked after me. If they feel that the best thing for me and for them is for me to go on loan to Napoli for a season then so be it. Napoli is a new challenge for me and I know that the fans are just as passionate about their team as the Liverpool fans, so I am really looking forward to playing for them this season and I will give my all.

But if I have one regret, it is the way that I am leaving. It is only natural that I would be disappointed that the Liverpool management agreed to loan me to Napoli without telling me first, I thought that I deserved better than that even though I understand that difficult decisions have to be taken in football. A lot has been made about me informing the club that if an offer came in from Barcelona that I would have liked them to consider it. But I had also spoken to the club about the possibility of extending my contract if the offer was not made. I told the manager that I wanted to play for Liverpool and that Barcelona would only become an option for me if the opportunity arrived, like the rumours said it would, as it would be a chance for me to go back home. When it didn’t come I was happy to fight for my place so I was surprised that Liverpool decided it was in the club´s interests to send me to Napoli instead.

None of this will change my feelings for the club or the people in any way and now I have to look forward to a new challenge with Rafa Benitez, who I consider to be the best manager I have worked with, and I am fortunate to be going from one great club to another. Napoli remind me in many ways of the Liverpool I found in 2005, in all the affection they have shown me on my arrival, in having an ambitious project, even in coinciding and working with Benitez again…This memory which in part unites me with you, makes me happy and feel very motivated to begin this new project.

This is my chance to say thank you to everyone for everything that you have given to me and to my family. My children consider Liverpool to be their home and hopefully their love for the city and also for the club will only grow while we are away. I would have liked to have been able to say goodbye in a different way but because of the way the move came about this was not possible.

Maybe in the near future I can do it properly so that I can show my appreciation to you but all I would ask now is that you keep on inspiring the manager and the players just like you always have done and help Liverpool to become the club that you deserve once again. I would like nothing better than to come back at the end of my year away and for Liverpool to be back where they belong.

Thank you for everything. Good luck. I will see you soon.

Pepe Reina.

http://pepereina25.com/en/2013/07/29/car...os-vere-pronto/

THats the kind of player we need and want at LFC.

Mr.Henry, FSG, you should be ashamed of yourselves for sending him on loan to save a few quid. Especially since you tried to make it look like he was instigating the move. F*ck Off if this is how you are gonna treat the players who love this club.

Pepe, wish you all the best, come back soon.

he sounds very upset with the management about his departure, I thought BR was always open and honest with his players. Good luck Reina hope all goes well at Napoli but I think the only way he'll be back is if the ownership at Liverpool changes in the next season.

Im gonna cry! what a lovely letter that is, but good luck to pepe , I wish him all the best.

To be honest, the way I see it and have seen it for a while, is that Rodgers does want a competitor in goal, and that Mignolet was brought in out of "the funds for the committee" to make sure he was covered either way. I think Rodgers wants to make up the difference to Arsenal and Spurs imminently, and to do so, he has been given instruction to remove a few high earners off of the wage bill first or else he won't have the funds for his prime targets. I think we may well see a new contract re-negotiated next summer if he isn't sold to Barcelona, because his love for the club, married with a desire to keep top players remains. The only thing causing a problem, is his wages in comparison to how he has performed.

I don't think it has been handled all that well by the club. Even Rodgers said is was a decision "for the good of the club" and that it was "financially driven." I think it would be fair to say he may need a bit more cash to get the players he wants, and this may have been the only means of doing so, without FSG investing more money in the club. This isn't meant to be a "lets shun the owners comment," what I mean to say is, if we lose him for 1 season, to ensure we can rebuild our squad quicker, then I think it is a sacrifice we might well be happy to make (especially if it does work out and we can look back on it).

Some players deserve to be treat like shitt,Pepe ain't one of them.

Liverpool signed Mignolet due to knowing that Barca where more than likely coming in for Reina. This was put in motion as a priority. Barca never arrived and we had to think of the future. The fact is Reina would leave if Barca ever came calling still could next summer.

We then had a situation, were we have two keepers needing to play due to the world cup. Looking to the future, Reina is surplus to requirements. Napoli obviously sounded out the situation and we sorted out a deal while Reina was still on his extended break.

Advantages to us is we save £2 - 3 million on wages, plus his value should still remain intact.

Reina has unintentionally painted a picture that he was forced out. I think he was not trying to make the management look bad but rather make himself look loyal and respectful to the fans.
Truth is it is in his interests to move to Napoli. I do not believe for a moment that Rafa didn't speak to him in advance.
Barcelona are the bad guys in this situation, and it is them that are really the ones trying to save money.

JJ i agree with you, but the way his loan was played out in the press it made it seem like Pepe wanted out, and that him and his agent instigated the move, which isn't true at all. I have no doubts in my mind about who fed those lies to the press.

You know I defend FSG a lot on here, but there is a line you dont cross. When all of his compatriots left for greener pastures, Pepe remained loyal, despite offers. When a player shows love and loyalty like that, he deserves the same in return. Why not offer him a smaller contract? Why wait a year for that? They could have offered it now. They wanted him off the wage bill completely, they did not want to pay two High quality goalkeepers. That is not the way to get us back into the top 4.

I am very disappointed and furious at the way they have treated a player who has shown so much loyalty and dedication, despite dips in form. SHOCKING AND SHAMEFUL FROM FSG!

Well that was an interesting read. Very open and honest about Barc as well and just goes to show that players can get their heads turned by press speculation. I can understand why BR wanted to have himself covered in case Pepe left later in the window but still to not be informed is very poor. I get the feeling that there has been something of a break down between management and player going back a while now hence both sides have come out and Pepe has felt strongly enough to write a letter to the fans about it. Shame Pepe deserve better.

How can anyone believe that he didn't speak with Rafa before all this is plain crazy talk.

This is a 'PR' release showing loyalty and respect to the fans. I don't believe it was intended to make management look bad, but that is what it seems to have achieved.

Most of the louder people on here have been wanting him to leave for the last few years. Stick to your principles and stop being women.

Put emotions to the side. What is best for the club?
Was this not the best solution for all parties?