Report I read on the BBC last week said we had offered £38m with £10-15m in add on's, Liverpool offered £37.5m with £15m in add on's but they also had to give and £8m inital payment to make it work.
They had been monitoring the payer and expected to make a move in the summer but then we came and seriously looked like we could get him so they had to buy earlier than expected.
The player preferred Liverpool. Shit happens.
Its not like buying a packet of rice or loaf of bread from the supermarket where its a fixed price. Its like anything expensive in life - for us normal people, cars and houses. You see the price, put a lower offer in as you don't know what the seller really wants, they say no, you offer more until you reach an agreement or walk away.