The Bundesliga club also pointed to their ‘soft’ negotiations with Liverpool for Thiago, selling the midfielder for an initial £20m with a potential £5m in add-ons.
Their rebuffed opening proposals for Sadio Mane were similar – £25m and £23.5m with £6.5m in unlikely extras – despite his availability, explosiveness, and guaranteed decisiveness in the final third demanding a higher fee.
It has now dawned on Bayern that despite their strong hand and the fact Liverpool have already recruited a replacement in Nunez, they will need to submit a serious bid that matches the asking price.
The Anfield side want to recoup their £34m outlay on Mane when he joined from Southampton in the summer of 2016, plus a small profit.
Liverpool feel £42.5m is an overly reasonable figure for a Ballon d’Or candidate in the final year of his contract.
The club prides themselves on selling well but do not want to be an obstacle to players seeking a new challenge that have served them superbly.
Mane has been core to the club’s success over the past six seasons so will depart with their blessing and gratitude.
Liverpool have been conscious of needing to evolve without sentiment as a driving factor and have efficiently recalibrated their attack with the recruitment of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Nunez.
Sky Sports News reporter Vinny O’Connor:
Liverpool will look to strengthen their forward line this season. The fact they even spoke to Kylian Mbappe shows how intent they are to add further quality up top.
They have already secured the signature of Darwin Nunez, but it makes sense with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino entering the final year of their contracts. The departure of Mane, who also had one year left on his deal, and Divock Origi having already decided to go, makes reinforcements in that area a priority.
