LIVERPOOL made a last-ditch £86.5million bid for Real Madrid ace Federico Valverde but were brutally turned down, reports suggest.
The Reds desperately needed reinforcement in midfield after losing Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to injury.
According to Diario AS, the Merseysiders tried to lure Valverde, 24, in the final two days of the summer transfer window but Real refused to even entertain their offer.
In fact, Los Blancos found Liverpool’s attempt “brutal” and “offensive” as they refused to even consider letting such a key player leave so late in the summer.
The Spanish champions would have sealed their second biggest sale ever – after Cristiano Ronaldo’s £88m move to Juventus in 2018 – if they had agreed but still thought the offer was unacceptable.
Therefore, Liverpool had to look elsewhere and sealed a loan deal for Juve ace Arthur Melo.
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Valverde extended his contract with Real until 2027 only last summer and is highly rated by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The midfielder has already registered two goals and two assists in seven matches across all competitions this season.
The Uruguay international led Real to a 4-1 comeback win over Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday with a beautiful solo goal that cancelled out the visitors’ opener.
The 24-year-old has found more opportunities to break into Ancelotti’s starting line-up after Casemiro’s departure for Manchester United.
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But he Uruguayan is still facing fierce competition from the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Krros, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni.
However, former Chelsea and Everton boss Ancelotti also likes to play Valverde down the right wing sometimes where he links up with the likes of Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
