Liverpool will wave goodbye to several players once the curtain comes down on the season this Sunday.
Whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will get an on-pitch send-off is one of the talking points ahead of the game.
But regardless of if the club chooses to give Alexander-Arnold a guard of honour at Anfield, he will leave Liverpool after 20 years with the club.
Across the European footballing world, many more players are being given their own farewells as the season draws to a close.
Incoming Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili received a nice goodbye at Valencia as he prepares to move to Merseyside, for example.
Another keeper saying his farewells has been Pepe Reina, with the Spaniard’s having the poignancy of being a little more permanent. At the ripe old age of 42, Reina announced that he is retiring and had decided to take his leave after Como’s game against Inter Milan on Friday. Unfortunately, however, things did not end up going to plan for the former Liverpool man.
Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
Pepe Reina sent off on final appearance
Until Alisson Becker came along, Reina was the blueprint for modern Liverpool goalkeepers.
The former Barcelona youngster spent eight years in the first-team at Anfield, all of them as first choice. He should have won so much more than an FA Cup and League Cup, but still made a huge impact with the Reds.
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Even after leaving Liverpool at the age of 31, Reina still went on to have a remarkable career, taking in spells with Napoli, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Aston Villa, Lazio, Villarreal and, finally, Como.
With his last dance coming around on Friday, Como coach and former Spain teammate Cesc Fabregas started Reina against Inter.
READ MORE: Liverpool man has been the decisive factor in Florian Wirtz choosing Reds over Bayern Munich
🚨 ABSOLUTELY WILD:
Legendary Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina gets a RED CARD vs Inter… on the VERY DAY he retires from soccer 😱
His wife was in tears in the stands 💔
A SHOCKING GOODBYE 😢#SerieA pic.twitter.com/Fp4B2KKK9Z
— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) May 23, 2025
View Tweet
But the World Cup winner’s swansong ended abruptly after he rushed out to challenge Inter forward Mehdi Taremi. A long way from his goal, Reina slid in, missed Taremi and was promptly sent off.
It looked a little harsh, and as Marca reported, Reina’s wife could unfortunately be seen crying in the stands as her husband’s big night ended in tears.
There was a nice touch as both sets of players applauded the veteran shot-stopper off the pitch and he was embraced by Fabregas. But this is not how it should have ended.
What will Reina do next?
When Liverpool were on the lookout for an experienced third choice goalkeeper following Adrian’s exit, we thought Reina may be a good addition.
In the end, the former Spain international showed he can still do a job, playing 13 times for a decent Como team.
As he finally settles into his retirement, there will be frustration that it all ended in such disappointing fashion for Reina. But once the dust settles he will have an amazing career to look back on.
Given his ties to Liverpool, it would be nice to one day see Reina back at Anfield in some capacity. Given his playing responsibilities, he has not been back around the Reds much after leaving.
Perhaps a coaching position is the route the charismatic custodian will go down. Whatever he does, this night in Como will not diminish his success.