Nabil Fekir will stay at Lyon after negotiations over a transfer to Liverpool broke down, the Ligue 1 club have announced.
France forward Fekir has long been linked with a big-money move to Anfield and enjoyed a stellar campaign in France's top flight this season – scoring 18 goals and supplying a further eight assists.
Lyon issued a statement on Friday to dismiss reports the 24-year-old was on the verge of signing for Jurgen Klopp's Champions League finalists.
Fekir is part of France's squad for the 2018 World Cup and on Saturday French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet claimed he had undergone a Liverpool medical at Les Bleus' Clairefontaine training base.
However, the saga has now taken another and seemingly final twist.
"Olympique Lyonnais informs that the tripartite negotiations with Liverpool and Nabil Fekir for the transfer of the captain of OL have not succeeded and that Olympique Lyonnais has decided to put an end to this negotiation," read a statement on the club's official website.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
