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With the Reds enduring a miserable campaign, by this point well-aware that they would miss out on Champions League qualification and needed a major midfield overhaul, the ECHO reported at the time that the club had determined they would be better served spreading the cash on several signings rather than committing the majority to one big-money arrival.

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Bellingham would go on to join Real Madrid in June 2023 for an initial £88.5m fee, and has gone on to enjoy a staggering first season at the Bernabeu.

Boasting 20 goals and 10 assists from 34 appearances, the midfielder is eyeing up a potential La Liga and Champions League double in his maiden season in Spain.

Liverpool would go on to complete an £150m overhaul themselves, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion for £35m after matching his release clause prior to Bellingham’s move to Madrid, before snapping up Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m), Wataru Endo (£16.2m) and Ryan Gravenberch (£40m).

Jurgen Klopp would later confirm in January 2024 how finances had prompted the club to walk away from a potential move for Bellingham, admitting: "We were interested in (Jude) Bellingham, then realised it would not happen as we'd have no money for anything else."

The Reds will be more than satisfied with their summer business, with their midfield revamp helping win them the League Cup, close in on a return to the Champions League, and forge a genuine Premier League title challenge.

While Bellingham would have inevitably been a game-changing signing, it worked out alright for Liverpool in the end.

Besides, even if the Reds had enjoyed a more successful 2022/23 campaign and not withdrawn interest, there are no guarantees that Bellingham would have chosen Liverpool over Real Madrid anyway.

After all, at his Bernabeu unveiling, he admitted that watching the Spanish giants beat the Reds in the 2022 Champions League final had been a ‘huge factor’ in his decision.

Speaking passionately about the La Liga outfit throughout, the now 20-year-old did paint a picture of how once he knew Real Madrid were interested, his mind was made up.

Bellingham will face Premier League opposition as a Los Merengues player on Wednesday night when Real Madrid take on Manchester City at the Etihad in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The two sides are currently level on aggregate following a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.

And speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the game, Bellingham again opened up on his decision to join Real Madrid, with Liverpool and Man City just two of the sides he had held talks with prior to moving to Spain.

“I had good chats with [other] clubs, including Dortmund,” he said.
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