Jurgen Klopp has claimed Liverpool "could not afford" to sign Philippe Coutinho - even if it "sounds weird".
Former Reds star Coutinho was tipped to make a return to Anfield before deadline day but a move did not materialise.
He instead secured a switch to Bayern Munich this week in a season-long loan deal with an option to buy.
Klopp was named as Coach of the Year at the Sport Bild awards in Germany on Monday night and was interviewed via a video link.
He hinted that he was keen to pursue a move to bring back the Brazilian playmaker - but declared they could not afford the financial side of a deal despite receiving £142m for selling him to Barcelona last January.
"It sounds weird, but we could not afford it," Klopp said.
"We have already spent the money that we got for him.
"He's a super player and a super boy.
"We were reluctant to hand it over at the time, but Barcelona forced us with money, so to speak.
"He is a player who can change games for the positive. It's not that nice for Dortmund, but it's a great transfer for Bayern and the Bundesliga."
Barcelona confirmed the financial terms of Coutinho's exit in a statement announcing his departure on Monday.
They said: "FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the loan of the player Philippe Coutinho to the German club for the 2019/20 season.
"Bayern Munich will pay 8.5 million euros and the player’s wages. The agreement also sees an option to buy for Bayern fixed at 120 million euros.
"FC Barcelona would like to thank to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication wishes him all the best in this new stage of his career."
