REINA HITS THE £23M LIVERPOOL JACKPOT

Posted Sunday, January 24, 2010 by NOTW.co.uk

£90k a week for top keeper

PEPE REINA is close to signing a new five-year deal at Anfield.

Liverpool opened talks with the keeper earlier this month and have put a £23million package on the table.

The deal would put Reina on around £90,000 a week. The club expect an agreement to be reached shortly with the player having already committed his future to the Merseysiders.

Reina's current deal runs until 2012, so his new terms will represent a three-year extension.

His salary hike will reflect his rise to what his manager and team-mates describe as 'world number one' status.

Reina had been coveted by both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in recent years, but despite some homesickness issues earlier in his Anfield career he's now well settled on Merseyside.

A club spokesman told Sport of the World: "Pepe's deal will reflect his position as an outstanding Liverpool player. A five-year contract will reflect how highly he is thought of by everyone at the club. We know he wants to stay and we want to keep him, so now talks have begun on schedule we don't expect any problems."

Although the American owners continue to court criticism for their running of the club, there can be no questioning their financial commitment to retaining the current squad.

Reina will join Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Daniel Agger and Yossi Benayoun in signing lucrative deals over the last six months.

Liverpool point out the combined cost of those deals is well in excess of £100m over the course of their contracts. That's aside from the manager's own contract worth £25m.