Pepe Reina

Barcelona

The son of former Barcelona goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his football career in the youth academy of Barcelona, La Masia, in 1995. From 1999, he played as a first-choice goalkeeper for the Barcelona reserve side, which then competed in the third tier in the Spanish football pyramid. In 2000, At age 18, he was called up for the Barcelona first-team after the first and second choice goalkeepers, Richard Dutruel and Francesc Arnau, suffered injuries. He made his debut as a substitute for Dutruel in a 3–3 draw with Celta de Vigo on 2 December 2000. He made 19 appearances in the remainder of the 2000–01 La Liga season and appeared seven times in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup, where Barça lost to Reina's future team Liverpool at the semi-final stage. Reina made 16 appearances for the club during the 2001–02 season, serving as understudy to Roberto Bonano. On 31 October 2001, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in Barcelona's 1–0 group stage win against Fenerbahçe at Camp Nou. After signing the German goalkeeper Robert Enke, Barcelona told Reina he was free to leave the club.

Villarreal

In July 2002, Reina joined Villarreal and went on to spend three seasons with the Valencian club. In 2004, Villarreal reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup and, in Reina's final season at the club, he helped El Submarino Amarillo qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history.

Liverpool

2005–06 season

Reina was…

Reina made his debut on 17 August 2005, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 friendly win over Uruguay at El Molinón in Gijón. He was a member of the Spanish squad which reached the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup, but did not play. At UEFA Euro 2008, he played the final group match in Salzburg as Spain had already advanced, conceding a header by reigning champion Greece's Angelos Charisteas, although Spain came back to win 2–1. He was an unused substitute for the final as Spain won 1–0 against Germany to claim their first major honour for 44 years. In October 2008, he and Casillas together broke the national record for the longest time spent without conceding a goal after defeating Estonia 3–0. The pair went unbeaten for 710 minutes since Reina conceded from Charisteas, longer than the legendary Andoni Zubizarreta and Francisco Buyo. Wesley Sonck of Belgium ended their streak when he scored against Casillas in a World Cup qualifier later that month. The following year, he was part of the Spanish squad which reached the semi-finals at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. His sole appearance was in the last group game in Bloemfontein, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 win over hosts South Africa, a result which was a world record 15th consecutive international victory for Spain. He was named in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was an unused substitute for the final as Spain were crowned World champions for the first time. Reina was also called up for Spain for UEFA…

On 2 June 2025, Reina returned to Villarreal, after being appointed manager of the Juvenil A squad. After leading the side to the quarter-finals of the 2025–26 UEFA Youth League, he renewed his contract on 10 June 2026.

Reina was well known for his distribution, ball skills, technique, positioning, shot-stopping, leadership, and ability to save penalties. He also played as a "sweeper-keeper" on occasion throughout his career, due to his anticipation and speed when rushing off his line, as well as his ability to start plays or create chances from the back. Fellow goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon named Reina as the best goalkeeper of his era with his feet. He set a number of goalkeeping records for Liverpool and won the Premier League Golden Glove award in his first three seasons at the club. He also received praise in the media for his longevity.