KEY POINTS

  • Spain's Pepe Reina fell sick nearly two weeks ago
  • He said he could not breathe for almost 25 minutes after testing positive for the virus
  • He won four trophies during his nine-year tenure with Liverpool

Former Liverpool FC goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed he could not breathe for “25 minutes” after contracting coronavirus symptoms terming those moments “the worst” of his life.

Reina, who currently has moved from Ashton Villa on loan from AC Milan, fell unwell nearly two weeks ago but he is recovering slowly after self-isolating as he said “it is only now that I am winning the battle against coronavirus.”

“I was very tired after experiencing the first symptoms of the virus: A fever, dry cough and a headache that never went away. It was just that constant feeling of tiredness. The most difficult moment was when I could no longer breathe, the 25 minutes I ran out of oxygen. It was the worst moments of my life."

"The only real fear I had was when I understood there was no oxygen: endless minutes of fear as if suddenly my throat had closed. As a result, I spent the first six or eight days indoors,” the 37-year-old goalkeeper narrated his alarming experience last week from the illness in a recent interview.

Reina, who began his soccer career at Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, added that at least staying indoors was not a task since he had the company of his wife, five children and two in-laws and he could manage it because their house is big,

“We are very privileged people. We have a big house, with a garden. I think of the people who live in a 70 sq m apartment with two children and for me, they are people who are showing a lot of strength,” Reine said in an interview last week when he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Sergio Aguero & Pepe Reina
Sergio Aguero and Pepe Reina watch on as the striker's shot travels into the net. Reuters

The Spanish goalkeeper spent some of his best years in the Premier League when he was a part of Liverpool FC. Reina was one of The Reds for as many as nine years and during the tenure, he won FA Cup (2005-06), League Cup (2011–12), FA Community Shield (2006) and UEFA Super Cup (2005).

At present, all the soccer leagues across the globe are suspended due to the ongoing pandemic virus crisis. Premier League leaders, Liverpool are just two wins away from winning their first league title in 30 years.

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