Liverpool beat Barcelona to Keita, confirms RB Leipzig chief

RB Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff has revealed Liverpool fended off competition from Barcelona to secure the signature of highly rated midfielder Naby Keita.

The Leipzig No.8 will join Liverpool at the end of the season after Jurgen Klopp’s side agreed a £55m deal with the Bundesliga side before the start of the current campaign.

Keita has a £45m release clause in his current Leipzig contract that would have been active next summer, but Liverpool agreed to pay over that in order to secure his signature ahead of their European rivals.

Klopp wanted to sign Keita for this season, but Leipzig were unwilling to part ways with one of their best players before their first ever taste of Champions League football.

However, it has now been revealed that Liverpool beat Barcelona to Keita’s signature after pursuing him more aggressively than their Spanish counterparts.

“Barcelona were also interested in Naby Keita,” Mintzlaff told Sport Bild, via Football Espana. “This has been confirmed to us by Barcelona themselves, but obviously they didn’t try as hard as Liverpool.”

After finishing last season as the highest WhoScored rated Bundesliga player (7.65), Keita has endured a rocky start to the season. Nevertheless, in the Guinea international has completed more dribbles than any other Bundesliga player in that period (110).