Nabil Fekir confessed his confusion over why his proposed move to Liverpool fell through seven years ago.

The French midfielder was seen as the ideal replacement for Philippe Coutinho, who had departed for Barcelona earlier in 2018.

Liverpool had reportedly agreed a £58.5million fee with Lyon for Fekir's services, and the attacking midfielder had completed a medical and agreed personal terms with the Premier League heavyweights.

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However, in an unexpected turn of events, his imminent transfer to Anfield fell through, with reports suggesting that a knee problem identified during Fekir's medical was the reason for the breakdown of the deal.

Fekir had missed most of the 2015/16 season due to a ruptured right ACL sustained while on international duty, and had suffered two further knee injuries during his time in France.

The 31-year-old remained at his childhood club for another season before moving to La Liga side Real Betis for a significantly reduced fee of £18m the following summer.

Fekir, who earned 25 caps for France between 2015 and 2020, addressed his failed move to Liverpool in 2019, dismissing rumours that his knee condition was the reason he didn't end up playing for the Reds.

"The truth, why the transfer to Liverpool did not work out, I don't even know it myself," Fekir told French sports paper L'E?quipe.

"I passed my medical, and after that, they decided not to sign me after all.

What was said is not the truth.

"My knee is good - I had a quick medical check at Clairefontaine - my knee wasn't even mentioned.

"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.

The attempt to spread this pseudo-physical problem into the world, of course, had an influence on other clubs potentially interested as well."

After the deal fell through, Fekir parted ways with his agent, Jean-Pierre Bernes, who had attributed the issue to the player's knee problems.

Fekir eventually joined Al Jazira in 2023.

Liverpool, who went on to win the Champions League in the 2018/2019 season with signings like Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Naby Keita, and Xherdan Shaqiri, are now reportedly close to securing Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, including add-ons.