Pepe Reina has revealed his difficulties at adapting after his move to Liverpool in 2005, revealing he was "aghast" at the Merseyside weather upon arrival.
The former Spain international joined the Reds from Villarreal weeks after Rafa Benitez had led the Reds to a Champions League win
Reina, who won the FA Cup and the League Cup as a Liverpoolplayer, has opened up on the dramatic change in climate
Reina
"[In 2005] I moved on to what has been perhaps the most important sporting spell of my career, at the club where I competed best, where I felt best on a personal and collective level, in terms of competitiveness. I spent eight wonderful years in Liverpool,"
"I spent two weeks looking at my wife and saying 'What is this?' We came from somewhere where the average temperature was 25 degrees but there, in July, it rained non-stop for two weeks. I was aghast. I didn't expect it and it was difficult to adapt to all that.
"It was difficult because I was still a kid; I was 23 years old. In the end, though, though it can be difficult to adapt, you adapt to everything when you are doing well, when you are happy, when you are comfortable and when you are valued.
“The rest is pretty much secondary.”
"We dedicated ourselves to what we were doing, to forming a great family, because it is very cold there, and it was the best time, so everything went wonderfully."
Reina added:
"Well, when I left Villarreal that summer, and without having even debuted with Liverpool yet, the national team called me up for the first time.
"So, the merit is down to what we did at Villarreal that last year and it was the consistency afterwards, doing well at Liverpool, that kept me in the national team setup.
“I’m privileged and lucky to have shared so many things with that generation of footballers."
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