Reina: Hicks and Gillett blocked my Arsenal move
Published 12:15 09/10/11 By MirrorFootball
Pepe Reina has revealed he came close to quitting Liverpool for Arsenal last year - but the move broke down over Tom Hicks and George Gillett's finances.
The Spanish keeper was ready for a £20m switch to the Emirates after winning the World Cup in summer 2010 but the American owners feared selling him would send out the wrong signals to potential Anfield buyers.
Reina wrote in his new autobiography: "Arsenal had made their determination to sign me clear by offering £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper. Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future even if I did so with a heavy heart.
"When Liverpool received the bid, they rejected it. This was not because I had been told that I was too good a keeper to leave.
"The reason I was given was quite different - and it left me feeling down. I was told that my continued presence was crucial to the sale of the club. I was simply a bargaining chip in the sales process."
