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Liverpool’s long-held pursuit of Marc Guehi came to a frustrating conclusion this week as Manchester City secured the England international for £20 million. The Reds had been close to landing the Crystal Palace captain last September, agreeing a £35 million fee and personal terms before chairman Steve Parish pulled the plug at the final hour.
Liverpool’s plan shifted to waiting until summer 2026, when Guehi’s contract would expire and they could sign him as a free agent.
However, City’s defensive injury crisis – with Josko Gvardiol sidelined for the season and Ruben Dias and John Stones unavailable – prompted Pep Guardiola to act decisively in January. The 25-year-old defender penned a five-and-a-half-year deal worth a reported £300,000 per week, making the overall package significantly more expensive than the headline fee suggests.
And now, David Ornstein, speaking on the Athletic FC podcast, has explained why Liverpool decided to pass on the chance to sign the England international:
“The word from Liverpool is that the finances didn’t make sense to them, 20 million pounds plus salary and agent commissions and whatever the total package would be for just four months of football. That’s their version of events,” Ornstein said.
“Others will say that after what happened in the summer, he didn’t want to go there and his focus was on Manchester City, where he’s ended up and says that it was always City, to quote him.”
“Others would have been there in the summer too, possibly Arsenal, Bayern Munich were pushing hard, Barcelona were in the mix. I think he was due to go and visit maybe Bayern Munich and Barcelona I was hearing, which he’s entitled to do as a free agent.”
“You can sign a pre-contract agreement legally with a foreign club. I think a lot has gone on in that situation. We don’t know the exact ins and outs of it yet.”
“However, Manchester City put their best foot forward. They’ve come up trumps, they’ve won the race, and it’s an exceptional signing.”
So, it seems Liverpool assessed the financial commitment, including agent fees and wages totaling around £85.8 million over the contract length, and concluded it did not represent value for a player they could have acquired on a free transfer just months later.
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