Thiago Alcantara's father has claimed Paris Saint-Germain tried to sign his son in the transfer window.
However, they failed to convince him to abandon Bayern Munich for the club with his heart set on Liverpool.
It forced the French champions to look elsewhere, but they did not search too far after signing his brother instead.
After winning the Champions League with Bayern, Thiago was after a new challenge.
The Premier League appealed to him and he was especially excited about playing under Jurgen Klopp, meaning any chance of PSG signing him would be minimal at best.
After a summer-long saga, the Spain international swapped life in Munich for Merseyside.
But the Parisians were determined to sign a midfielder with flair - and turned to his brother Rafinha instead, as their father Mazinho explained.
“I had spoken with [PSG director] Leonardo some time ago, but it was for Thiago,” he told France Football.
“Leonardo wanted to sign him for PSG, but Thiago had already made a deal with Liverpool.
“We then talked about Rafa, but he was not part of Leonardo's plans at that time.
“I think he must have thought about it, that he saw the nature of the opportunity and it would be a blow to sign him.
“When he started talking again, Leonardo had changed his mind.
"And it all sped up on the last day.
“It was Monday that we had to work hard to convince both clubs.
“We were scared, but thank God, five or six hours before the deadline, we made a deal.
“Leonardo wanted Thiago, he got Rafinha. And for Rafa, it was a dream to join such a club.”
Rafinha and Thiago may be brothers but play for different countries, with the former hailing from Brazil and the latter Spain.
