“It has been much longer than I ever dreamed,” Reina said in a heartfelt farewell message posted online.
Veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina will bring down the curtain on a storied career when he plays his final professional match for Como against Inter Milan on Friday. The 42-year-old Spaniard, who joined Cesc Fabregas’ Serie B side in July, announced his retirement in an emotional social media post.
“It has been much longer than I ever dreamed, yet it feels so short that I’d live it all over again,” Reina wrote.
“I’m proud and at peace with every moment I’ve experienced, the tough ones because they taught me, and the good ones because they’ve made me extraordinarily happy.”
Reina enjoyed a distinguished career across Europe, making nearly 400 appearances for Liverpool, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2006 and the League Cup in 2012. He also featured for Napoli, Bayern Munich, and was part of Spain’s golden generation that claimed the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships.
Reina will hang up his gloves as one of the most respected goalkeepers of his era.