Nabil Fekir’s former agent has revealed why his move to Liverpool collapsed.
Fekir was the verge of a move to Jurgen Klopp’s side in June 2018 after a deal had been agreed with Lyon but subsequently fell through at the eleventh hour.
An underlying knee problem had been credited with the reason for the Ligue 1 outfit’s decision to pull the plug on the proposed £48.4 million transfer.
It emerged that a underlying knee problem had been at the heart of the Reds’ decision to pull the plug on the midfielder, who would later join Real Betis.
But Jean-Pierre Bernes claims to know the real reasons that led to the France international’s switch to Anfield becoming scuppered.
“Nabil was Liverpool’s priority. I worked for four months with the Liverpool representatives, with Jurgen Klopp, Jean-Michel Aulas,” he told Canal Plus.
“Everything was ready. Nabil was already aware of his future contract, which would have seen him earn around €45 million over five years.
“And on the day that the contract was supposed to be signed, at Rambouillet, we saw a lawyer and Nabil’s brother-in-law arrive who said: ‘Stop everything, discussions have to start all over again.’
“It was surreal. We thought that we were in a Walt Disney film.
“There were two elements. The player’s medical was negative and the second element was that when you want to sign for a big club like Liverpool, you need a certain attitude.
“When the Liverpool guys witnessed this cinema, they immediately… Sometimes when a player has an injury representatives can make an effort to make it work.
“The brother-in-law of Nabil Fekir all of a sudden acted like a player’s agent. He wanted a commission, everyone knows, it is fashionable these days.
“[Fekir] was on a cloud, he seemed to have transformed, he didn’t even greet the Liverpool representatives.
“He arrived after the medical, everyone was looking at each other, the Liverpool representatives were wondering where they were. I was ashamed.”