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Liverpool were linked with World Cup winner and £53m star for ages but never signed them Transfer sagas spanning years is a situation Liverpool know a thing or two about Few things ignite the football world quite like a transfer saga, and Liverpool have certainly starred in their fair share over the years. There's been plenty of wins in the market for the Reds, such as their past acquisitions of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, or besting Bayern Munich to the signing of Florian Wirtz last summer. High-stakes moves trigger an intense mix of fan hype and deadline-day anxiety, but the tension usually dissolves the second a player hits the pitch in red. Every so often, however, years of following a particular target and intense negotiations end in heartbreak. From controversial collapses of deals to players simply opting for another club, Mirror Football takes a look at five targets Liverpool failed to drag across the finish line - and why the deals fell apart. FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page Nabil Fekir Arguably the most infamous collapsed transfer in recent Liverpool history, the breakdown of Nabil Fekir's switch to Anfield in 2018 sparked accusations of dishonesty and family drama. The Frenchman had undergone a medical ahead of his £53million transfer from Lyon and agreed personal terms before the Reds pulled out of the deal. The attacking midfielder had even posed for promotional photographs with the club, who insisted their decision to abandon the deal was down to a knee cartilage issue. Fekir dismissed the Reds' explanation as a lie and rejected claims from his then-agent, Jean-Pierre Bernes, who suggested that the Frenchman's brother-in-law tried to secure a cut from the transfer. "Lots of lies were told, and they affected me," Fekir told L'Equipe in 2019. "Especially those told about my family. It hurt them and me. Especially when you know that what's being told is false. "What was said is not the truth. My knee is good - I had a quick medical check at Clairefontaine [the headquarters of France's national team] - my knee wasn't even mentioned. If my knee had been in such a bad state, would [then-Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas] have made [a sufficient offer to keep the player]?" Gareth Barry Sky's Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season with more than 1,400 live games across the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts. Every subscription now comes with 135 channels alongside free subscriptions to HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu. Liverpool's pursuit of Gareth Barry began in the summer of 2008. A vital component of Aston Villa's midfield engine room, Rafael Benitez had identified the Englishman as the ideal replacement for Xabi Alonso, who had endured an injury-disrupted campaign throughout 2007/08. Yet the Reds fell short of Villa's £18m valuation for their skipper, forcing Barry to remain at the Midlands club. Liverpool returned to the negotiating table twelve months on, with their persistent interest in the midfielder ultimately prompting Alonso to seal a switch to Real Madrid. It proved a double setback for Benitez as Barry chose Manchester City over Anfield. Reflecting on his decision to snub Liverpool, Barry told Birmingham Live's Claret and Blue podcast: "Something appealed to me more about Man City than Liverpool at the time. Liverpool had won the Champions League not so long ago and Man City hadn't won a trophy for many years, but I went with that route." Arda Turan Arda Turan was repeatedly linked with a switch to Liverpool over a six-year period between 2009 and 2015. The speculation started during his stint at Galatasaray, but it was Atletico Madrid who secured his services in 2011. His impressive four-year spell in the Spanish capital, which featured their La Liga triumph in 2014, didn't halt talk of his possible arrival on Merseyside, according to AS. It was claimed the Turkish star grew up watching Liverpool and his father supported the club. Despite his family's reported affection for the Reds, Turan never turned out for the club and instead moved to Barcelona in 2015, before hanging up his boots in 2022 with Galatasaray. Simao Sabrosa We're turning back the clock with Simao Sabrosa. A prominent figure in Portuguese football during the 2000s, the former forward came within touching distance of joining the Reds in the summer of 2005 before Benfica pulled out of the arrangement. A reported £10m deal had been struck between the two clubs, with Simao even leaving Portugal's training camp to undergo a medical. The 46-year-old opened up about the collapsed transfer in 2022, when speaking to Liverpoolfc.com. He recounted: "At that time I'm in the national team, three or four days until the end [of the window]. I received a call at like five o'clock in the morning, 'You need to come, we go to Liverpool.' "I go to [Luiz Felipe] Scolari and the director of the national team to give me permission to go out. When I go to the office of my agent, in that moment the president of Benfica called and said, 'We don't have a deal, you don't have permission to fly, so you need to stay.' "It's strange because I thought it was done. But when the president went home, he called again and said, 'It's impossible to fly to Liverpool and get a new contract with Liverpool, so you need to stay. Because if you sign for Liverpool, Benfica fans will be angry [with me].' At that time I said, 'OK, I stay.' "The office of my agent is near the airport and the agent gave me some impression, 'Let's go to the airport. When we arrive in Liverpool, maybe the president says yes.' I said, 'No, it's impossible to take the plane and fly to Liverpool.' "I was representing the national team and if I take this decision, I have a lot of problems with the national team, my club, so I decided to stay." His switch to Atletico Madrid in 2007 did little to silence ongoing speculation of a transfer to Anfield, but nothing advanced as close as it had a year prior. Julian Draxler The former Germany international is another footballer familiar to Liverpool supporters. The 32-year-old, who presently features for Qatari outfit Al-Ahli, emerged into the spotlight with boyhood side Schalke in 2011, which is when his enduring connections to Liverpool commenced. Former Reds manager Brendan Rodgers reportedly made a personal trip to the Veltins-Arena to run the rule over Draxler during a Champions League clash against Basel. However, a deal never came to fruition as the attacking midfielder ultimately joined fellow Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in 2015. A switch to Paris Saint-Germain followed two years on, though not before Liverpool had once again registered their interest in the 2014 World Cup winner, this time under Jurgen Klopp. The German tactician was eager to bring compatriot Draxler to Merseyside, but the player chose a move to the French capital instead. He has since admitted to pondering what might have unfolded had he chosen to test himself in the Premier League. "When I was still very young at Schalke and extended my contract, I could have gone to Arsenal," he told BILD, as quoted by Sport Witness. "Honestly, I'd be interested to see what would have become of me if I had learned from Arsene Wenger so early. I've also wondered what would have happened if I hadn't gone from Wolfsburg to Paris, but to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. I had that opportunity, too. Nevertheless, I'm happy. I'm at peace with my decisions."