"Liverpool wanted" - Club president reveals Reds were in for €100m midfielder

Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez has said that Liverpool were trying to sign Aurelien Tchouameni before they completed the signing.

Speaking on El Chiringuito TV, as cited by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Perez revealed that the Frenchman was talking to Liverpool. But, the midfielder only ever wanted to join Real Madrid.

"Tchouameni deal? Someone told him he had to go at Paris Saint-Germain... yes, (Kylian) Mbappe was trying but this is normal," said Perez.

"PSG and Liverpool wanted Tchouameni, it's normal to have competition. He only wanted Real Madrid."

Anfield Watch Verdict

It was no secret that Liverpool were very interested in signing Tchouameni this summer.

Paul Joyce of The Times, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, went as far as to confirm the Reds' interest in the Frenchman.

However, he did say that Liverpool were aware that Tchouameni was attracting interest from other top clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid.

As we know, the 22-year-old ended up signing for the Spanish Champions for a reported fee of €80 million plus €20 million in add-ons.

I honestly think that if the Mbappe saga between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid didn't happen, then we would've signed Tchouameni this summer.

At the time, it looked like Madrid were going to spend a large chunk of their summer transfer window budget on Mbappe (agent fees etc) and the Reds were going to swoop in and acquire Tchouameni.

However, that didn't happen and due to so many clubs being in for the French midfielder, it meant that Monaco could demand a hefty transfer fee.

Even though Monaco slapped a €100 million fee on Tchouameni, that didn't deter Real Madrid away.

It's still unknown whether Liverpool are going to sign a midfielder this summer, but I'd be hopeful we are due to being so invested in the Tchouameni deal.