Nabil Fekir's former agent claims to have finally revealed the reason for the player's failed move to Liverpool last year, describing the “surreal” situation as like being “in a Walt Disney film.”
Fekir – who subsequently remained at home city club Lyon for a further season before joining Spanish club Real Betis this summer in a cut-price £17million move – approximately a third of the price that the Reds were reported to have agreed – was poised to complete a high-profile switch to Anfield before the deal collapsed at the 11th hour.
His agent at the time, Jean-Pierre Bernes, ended his professional relationship with client Fekir back in April this year.
However, in an extraordinary interview with Canal Plus, Bernes has pointed the finger of blame for the transfer to Anfield not being completed at a third party.
Get Football News France quote him as saying: “Nabil was Liverpool’s priority. I worked for 4 months with the Liverpool representatives, with Jurgen Klopp , Jean-Michel Aulas, everything was ready.
“Nabil was already aware of his future contract, which would have seen him earn around €45m over 5 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.”
Last month, Fekir claimed over the collapse of the deal that "Lots of lies were told and they affected me. Especially those told about my family."
But in his latest outburst, Bernes added: “The brother-in-law of Nabil Fékir all of a sudden acted like a player’s agent.
“He wanted a commission, everyone knows, it is fashionable these days. [Fékir] 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.”
However, the ECHO understands that concerns over a knee injury were the reason the deal collapsed and the kind of actions from the Fekir camp that Bernes describes wouldn't have stopped Liverpool from signing the player.
