One of the best players the Premier League has ever seen departed the division at the end of the season, as the curtain was brought down on Kevin De Bruyne's decade at Manchester City.
The Belgian superstar claimed countless trophies after joining City in 2015, including six Premier Leagues, a Champions League, two FA Cups and five League Cups.
It was confirmed before this season was out that De Bruyne would be leaving City at the end of his contract, after a couple of injury-affected campaigns.
During his final few weeks with the club, he demonstrated his immeasurable quality as he helped Pep Guardiola's side to secure qualification for next season's Champions League. In the background, he was weighing up the next steps up of his career.
Ultimately, De Bruyne plumped for Napoli, but there were, unsurprisingly, other options on the table: Napoli and MLS outfit Chicago Fire were the main interested parties, but The Athletic reports that Liverpool also held talks with the Belgian.
However, despite De Bruyne being a childhood Reds fan, the talks did not progress to an advanced stage. A "short conversation" is said to have taken place, but at that point Liverpool had decided to pursue Florian Wirtz, while a move for Rayan Cherki — who recently signed for City — was also on the cards.
De Bruyne would not have been a guaranteed starter for Liverpool, and a squad role would not have appealed to the 33-year-old.
It will also never be known — had Liverpool ended up making a concrete offer to sign De Bruyne — whether he would have followed through with a move to the club that was City's main rival for domestic supremacy for the majority of his time at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne in action against City
De Bruyne in action against City (Image: MI News/NurPhoto)
Speaking in April, De Bruyne said that he was surprised by City's decision not to offer him a contract extension. "I have not had any offer the whole year, they just took a decision," De Bruyne said of City's decision to release him. "Obviously, I was a bit surprised but I just have to accept it. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level like I'm showing, but I understand clubs have to make decisions."
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah said during an interview with Sky Sports last month that there was space for De Bruyne in Arne Slot's squad.
Salah was asked if he had a message for De Bruyne ahead of his City departure and ended it with a cheeky message for the Belgian. He said: "I want to tell him congratulations for your career. He has done a phenomenal job for City, he was great for the league and I really wish him the best. And, yeah, we have a space for him!"