Forgotten Liverpool star closes in on breaking Cristiano Ronaldo record aged 41
Liverpool legend Pepe Reina is closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo's record of the most appearances in European competitions.
The goalkeeper, who spent nine years at Anfield, is now 41 and still going strong at Villarreal, where he spent the early parts of his career. Reina started as the Spanish side were well beaten by Marseille in the Europa League on Thursday night, but he continues to rack up the appearances.
Reina has enjoyed a well-travelled career that has seen him play in England, Spain, Germany and Italy. The veteran shot-stopper has now played 192 games in UEFA competitions - leaving him just five off Ronaldo's haul.
The Spaniard stands to extend that number further in the second-leg of Villarreal's knockout clash. Despite his age, and being the understudy at the La Liga club, Reina has played all seven of his side Europa League outings as they continue to rotate the goalkeepers.
It is also clear that Ronaldo won't be further extending his number of appearances with his spell in Europe appearing to be over. He opted to move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr and considers his time in Europe to be done, whilst Reina can continue adding to his total.
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If he wants to top Ronaldo then he will likely have to play on into next season with Villarreal facing a tough task in overhauling a 4-0 first-leg loss. Reina's haul of appearances have come across several competitions with the goalkeeper playing in the Champions League, the Europa League, the now defunct UEFA Cup as well as several qualifiers.
He began with Barcelona before moving to Villarreal. He caught the eye of Rafa Benitez and moved to Liverpool, where he won the UEFA Super Cup and reached the Champions League final. He left Anfield to move to Napoli, where he's made over 100 appearances across two spells.
Cristiano Ronaldo won five Champions Leagues (Getty Images)Reina was also No 1 at AC Milan and Lazio, sandwiched in between a short loan stint at Aston Villa. He's now back at Villarreal and the goalkeeper has expressed a willingness to play on for as long as possible with retirement a genuine fear.
“I won’t lie to you,” he told the Athletic previously. “I can’t say I’m not afraid, I can’t say I don’t think there will be a void that I won’t be able to fill. The truth is I don’t know. Football has been a way of life for me for so long. You need to prepare yourself and I know it’s not going to be easy.”
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