“Lies were told”: Nabil Fekir makes massive claim over £53m failed Liverpool move | OneFootball

Nabil Fekir has told L’Equipe that “lies were told” about his dream move to Liverpool in 2018 and that it had a negative effect on him.

The story of how Fekir’s £53m move to Anfield collapsed is well known after the Reds pulled the plug at the eleventh hour due to concerns over the health of his knee.

A lot has been written about what might have been but the Frenchman has since moved to Real Betis in La Liga and he has now told L’Equipe that there were lies told about the deal between Liverpool and Lyon last year.

“Lots of lies were told and they affected me,” he said. “Especially those told about my family. It hurt them and me. Especially when you know that’s what being told is false.

“What was said is not the truth. My knee is good – I had a quick medical check at Clairefontaine (France’s national training base) – my knee wasn’t even mentioned. If my knee had been in such a bad state, would Aulas (Lyon chairman Jean-Michel) have made [a huge offer to keep me]?

“But the worst thing is the idea that people could suggest that it’s because of my family that the transfer didn’t happen. It’s a lie. But you have to live with it.

“You want the truth? Even I don’t know – I promise you! I did my medical and then [Liverpool] decided not to sign me. At some point, they wanted to have me believe it was because of my knee – but an excuse needed to be found.

“The medical tests that I did at Clairefontaine were very clear – my knee is perfectly fine and I feel fine. There are no issues at all with my knee.”

While it’s hard to not feel sympathetic for Fekir, Liverpool have moved on and are no longer interested in the talented Frenchman which means there is little point dwelling on the matter.

Liverpool have Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Gini Wijnaldum who are all capable of propelling Liverpool forward both in Europe and in the Premier League.

The Reds are back in action on Saturday when they will face Newcastle United at Anfield.