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Nabil Fekir Real Betis 2021Getty
Andrew Steel

'It was a dark moment' - Fekir explains why Liverpool transfer fell through at last minute

Transfers
Liverpool
N. Fekir
Real Betis
Lyon
Premier League
LaLiga
Ligue 1

The Real Betis attacker, then at Lyon, was at the centre of a protracted transfer saga as he saw a switch to Anfield collapse

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Nabil Fekir has opened up on his failed move to Liverpool three years ago, with the World Cup winner revealing that it was issues with his agent rather than an injury that doomed a switch from Lyon.

The Real Betis attacker was at the centre of a protracted transfer saga, with the Reds attempting to pry him away from Lyon in 2018.

The hopes of the France international, victorious at the World Cup that summer, were apparently scuppered by a medical issue with the deal all but done - but now Fekir says that it was his management that sunk the swap in the end.

What has been said?

“It was a dark moment,” the 28-year-old told The Times. “I saw plenty of things which weren’t true. It was said the knee stopped me going to Liverpool but that wasn’t true.

"I went to Clairefontaine [France’s football centre near Paris], and they did all the proof [medical] and the knee was fine.

"I had a problem with my agent, my adviser. It was the agent responsible for the deal not going through. Of course I was disappointed not to go to Liverpool, very disappointed because Liverpool are a great club."

The bigger picture

In the three years since Fekir - mooted as the final piece of the jigsaw for Jurgen Klopp following the arrival of Fabinho and Naby Keita that summer - saw his Anfield move collapse, he and Liverpool have been on different paths.

Following his appearance in the 2018 World Cup final, Fekir struggled to match his impressive 2017-18 form for Lyon domestically, and was sold to Real Betis the following summer, where he has since fallen out of international favour.

The Reds conversely went on to lift the Champions League in 2018-19 - what would have been Fekir's first season with them - before following it up with a first Premier League title a year later in 2020.

Further reading

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