Liverpool told why Martin Zubimendi rejected move with cheap parting shot

Real Sociedad head coach Imanol Alguacil has admitted his pride in Martin Zubimendi after the club managed to convince him to stay , suggesting that they are the 'biggest club'.

Zubimendi had initially given Liverpool the green light to go ahead with a move, where he would become the Reds' first signing under new head coach Arne Slot and fit right in at defensive midfield.

But after being told that he must essentially force a move out of his hometown club, Zubimendi chose not to make the move to Liverpool and told Richard Hughes that he intended to stay with his hometown team.

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In an attempt to keep their star midfielder with the team, they had discussed his quality of life in San Sebastian, along with his love for Basque cuisine and his legacy should he choose to stay.

After confirming his decision to remain in La Liga, Zubimendi has since been in full training with the team and will play against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, with his manager praising his decision to remain with the club - while sending somewhat of a parting shot at Liverpool in suggesting that they are a 'bigger club'.

Imanol told reporters: "We have to be proud of Zubimendi, he said no to Liverpool despite big money they offered him. For me, Real Sociedad is the biggest club and I believe Zubimendi thought the same so he decided to reject LFC bid."

Liverpool has not ruled out other additions to the squad, but Slot has already stated that he is pleased with the state of his team heading into the season.

He told reporters: "I said many times already that I think our squad is really strong, and it’s not so easy to find players that can help us or can even strengthen the squad. Zubimendi was one of them, to be fair, but he decided not to come. We go forward with the ones we have, and those ones have done really well in pre-season.

"We’re in a good place, and like I’ve said many times before, in the background, Richard [Hughes] is trying to strengthen the squad as he can, but unfortunately Zubimendi decided not to come. He [Hughes] did every effort, he tried everything to bring him in, but if a player doesn’t want to come, it’s obvious then that he is not coming."