Rodgers: Reina move to save wages

Pepe Reina is on the verge of a move to Napoli because Liverpool want to save money on his wages, Brendan Rodgers has revealed.

The Liverpool manager confirmed that the Spaniard’s prospective exit from the Premier League club is down to financial reasons.

Reina is all set to link up with former boss Rafael Benitez at the Serie A side, with Simon Mignolet primed to take the number one jersey at Anfield for the coming season.

“Financially it is something we needed to look at,” Rodgers told The Liverpool Echo.

“That would be the reason because obviously you wouldn’t move on a top goalkeeper. It reared its head over the last few months and I had to prepare for it by bringing in a new goalkeeper.”

Rodgers insisted that there was no rift between the two, noting that Reina needed to play regularly if he was to secure a place in Spain’s side for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

“Pepe is a good guy. I’ve a lot of time for him and he understands what I want to do totally,” Rodgers added.

“He’s got a big season ahead because it’s a World Cup year and one where, if he wasn’t going to be playing, could severely harm his chances of going.”

Liverpool are in Australia as part of their pre-season tour, with Reina expected to move in the next week.