It was a nice idea whilst it lasted, however, there are 100m reasons why Liverpool were never likely to be in with a shout of signing Kylian Mbappe.
The French World Cup winner has been the subject of intense transfer speculation for the past few seasons, though it appears that this summer will finally see him leave Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid have long been mooted as a potential destination, and the Daily Mail note that the Spanish giants are ready to offer the player an £85m/€100m signing on bonus.
That’s aside from his not insignificant salary and an image rights deal that the Daily Mail believe will also fall in the striker’s favour.
With Jurgen Klopp leaving the Reds at the end of this season, there was little chance on that basis of convincing a player of the standing of Mbappe to take a punt without knowing who the club’s new manager and backroom staff will be.
Even if the German had decided to hang around on Merseyside, breaking the bank to such an extent goes against everything the club have worked to achieve over the past few seasons.
Only a surprise about turn from Mbappe would appear to be able to keep him from Madrid’s clutches now.