Does Reina’s fall out with Napoli chairman still give Newcastle hope?

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Pepe Reina is said to be staying in Napoli, but could his fallings out with the chairman still give Newcastle hope of signing him.

Pepe Reina

There have been conflicting reports this summer about whether Pepe Reina will remain a Napoli player as he heads into the last year of his contract at the Serie A club.

Initially the Mirror reported that Newcastle United were looking to sign the goalkeeper, with manager Rafael Benitez hoping to reunite with a player he worked with at both Liverpool and at the Stadio San Paolo.

Pepe Reina and Rafael Benitez

“I have a great personal relationship with Reina,” Benitez said. “He’s a great goalkeeper.

“Pepe is a great player, but above all, a leader in the dressing room.”

Yet just two days later the Daily Mail reported that Reina would be saying in Naples after his agent said the 34-year-old would see out his contract in Italy.

“Pepe will stay at Napoli until the end of his contract,” said Manuel Garcia Quilon.

“Certain issues have nothing to do with what happens on the pitch and do not interest us. He is staying at Napoli until 2018.”

Spain’s Pepe Reina warms up before the match

Fairly comprehensive it would seem, although the “certain issues” that Quilon refers to is a fall out between Reina and Napoli chairman Aurelio de Laurentiis at the club’s end of season dinner.

As Italian publication La Gazetta Della Sport reports, De Laurentiis “joked” about the Spaniard being distracted by his family and other off the field activities.

While unhappy but quiet at the time, Reina and his wife later responded on social media criticising the chairman.

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis

This is not the first time there has been a run-in between the pair either, with De Laurentiis claiming in 2014 after the ‘keeper joined Bayern Munich over Napoli despite a successful year on-loan at the club that the Spain international’s wife did not like Naples.

While Reina, or at least his agent, seemed to have patched things up currently, Newcastle should perhaps not give up hope just yet of convincing the stopper to come back to England.