PEPE REINA is closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most appearances in European competitions.
Aged 41, the former Liverpool star is still plying his trade at the highest level.
AFPPepe Reina was in action for Villarreal last night[/caption]
GettyThe Spaniard made his first European appearance nearly 25 years ago[/caption]
GettyCristiano Ronaldo made his final European appearance for Man Utd last season[/caption]
Reina, who began his professional career in 1999, has been on the books at Villarreal since 2022.
While 21-year-old Filip Jorgensen has taken first choice duties in LaLiga, Reina remains the Yellow Submarine’s goalkeeper in Europe.
The 36-cap Spain international has started all seven of his side’s Europa League matches so far this term.
His outing last night against Marseille took him to 192 appearances in European competitions, just five behind Ronaldo’s record.
Reina’s European appearances have come in a variety of different competitions.
He has played 76 games in the Champions League, and 12 in the qualifying rounds.
A further 46 outings have come in the Europa League, with five more in qualifying for Uefa’s second-rung competition.
Reina also played in the Europa League precursor, making 30 appearances in the old Uefa Cup.
He played 15 times in the similarly dated Intertoto Cup, but more recently added seven Europa Conference League games across qualifying and the group stage.
With Liverpool he won the Uefa Super Cup in 2005, beating CSKA Moscow in extra time.
Reina started his career at Barcelona, before moving to Villarreal in 2002.
After three years he signed for Liverpool to succeed former Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek as No1.
He spent the last of his nine-years at Liverpool on loan at Napoli in Serie A, before making a permanent exit to Bayern Munich in 2014.
Following a season as Manuel Neuer‘s understudy he rejoined Napoli and went on to spend a further three years there.
In 2018 he joined AC Milan for a two-year stint, and even returned to the Premier League with Aston Villa on loan from the Italian giants.
Two years with Lazio followed, before he finally rejoined Villarreal in 2022.
If Reina is to beat Ronaldo’s record for European appearances, he will likely have to continue into next season.
That’s because his side’s Europa League hopes were left hanging by a thread as they were beaten 4-0 by Marseille as Stade Velodrome last night.
Former Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout got the scoring underway on 23 minutes with a close-range header.
Yerson Mosquera then turned beyond Reina in embarrassing fashion to make it 2-0 before the half hour.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converted from the penalty spot before half-time, then added another with a delicate left-footed chip over the veteran in the second period.
Reina’s fellow former Red Alberto Moreno compounded his side’s misery by being sent off just after the hour mark.
Villarreal will look to launch an unlikely comeback when the two sides reconvene next week, with Reina likely to make European appearance No193.
APPierre-Emerick Aubameyang dinked a shot over Reina[/caption]