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Just one year ago, Liverpool fans were growing increasingly frustrated with the club's slow transfer dealings, which wasn't for lack of effort from the Anfield hierarchy.
Martin Zubimendi turned down a switch to Anfield, whilst Newcastle United scuppered a potential swap arrangement involving Anthony Gordon. However, having witnessed failed bids for Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia across the previous two seasons, such irritation was entirely justified.
Regarding Tchouameni and Bellingham, Liverpool was forced to watch on as both secured lucrative transfers to Real Madrid. The Reds have begrudgingly become accustomed to struggling against the Spanish giants when competing directly for fresh recruits.
Even during this summer window, which witnessed Liverpool's ownership group FSG approve an extraordinary spending spree that saw the club shatter the British transfer record on two occasions, Madrid beat the Premier League title holders and other elite competitors to secure Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen's signature.
However, this wasn't always the case. When the Reds acquired Euro '96 winner Markus Babbel on a free transfer from Bayern Munich during the summer of 2000, he rejected Madrid's advances during this deal, despite them being the reigning European champions, to join Liverpool instead.
"Yeah, yeah, Real Madrid wanted me," he revealed to the ECHO on behalf of NewBettingSites.uk. "And it was a funny story because there was an agent there.
"He said, 'Listen, tomorrow I will bring you a $1m if you're not going somewhere else, if you sign for Real Madrid. And I said: 'Oh, thank you very much, but Real Madrid is not my club'.
"If I go to Spain, then the only team I would sign for is Barcelona, because I am a massive Barcelona supporter and Real Madrid wasn't ever my club and my team. They have the best players, but this is not my club.
"And, the funny thing is, I was on the way to Liverpool to sign the new contract. 6am in the morning and on the radio, the news came: 'Spectacular, Markus Babbel is signing for Real Madrid!'
"And I was on the way to Manchester, and driving over to Liverpool to sign the contract. That was a bit funny, yeah!"
Babbel, who recently celebrated his 53rd birthday, would enjoy a remarkable debut campaign at Anfield, helping Gerard Houllier's squad secure the treble and Champions League qualification during 2000/01. Operating at right-back, he remained a constant presence in the Premier League and featured from the start in all 60 of his outings that season from a total of 63 matches.
Babbel scored six goals and assisted five times, with standout moments including finding the net in a dramatic 3-2 Merseyside derby triumph against Everton at Goodison Park, providing the assist for the equaliser in the FA Cup final, and bagging the opening goal in the UEFA Cup final victory over Alaves.
But whilst he would feature in both of Liverpool's Charity Shield and European Super Cup triumphs over Manchester United and Bayern Munich the following August - completing a remarkable quintuple of silverware within the calendar year - catastrophe loomed ahead.
Taken off at half-time during the Reds' Premier League games with West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers, completely breathless, he received a diagnosis of the incapacitating Guillain-Barre syndrome and found himself confined to a wheelchair.
He extraordinarily returned to action in August 2002, but predictably encountered difficulties as he battled to recapture his former standards and clashed with Houllier during the process.
After being substituted before half-time in what would become his final outing for the club during a 4-3 victory over Aston Villa in December 2002, he stripped off his jersey in a gesture of defiance following a disappointing performance.
Subsequently sent off twice whilst turning out for the reserve side, the second occasion for head-butting Michael Symes in the mini Merseyside derby against Everton which resulted in a two-week wage penalty, Houllier would later acknowledge that Babbel had no future at the club.
"I doubt he will play for us again because I gave him many chances and it hasn't worked out," the Frenchman said. "It doesn't look as though his attitude is the best at the moment.
"He is frustrated and he has been sent off twice for the reserves recently. The staff have been disappointed with Markus's attitude towards the club and the fans.
"It is not only the outburst during the Worthington Cup, but he has been sent off twice in the reserves. I took no action after the first incident but I will fine him two weeks' wages for the incident last week, which was unacceptable. He is no longer in my plans.
"When you have talent there is no question you are capable of doing well for your club, but the motivation has to be there too.
"The attitude has to be right and in this case it has not been right. I think the club has been very fair to Markus. We stood by him and handed him a new contract. I'm very disappointed with him."
Babbel subsequently spent the 2003/04 campaign on loan at Blackburn Rovers, before securing a free transfer to VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2004.
Reflecting on events, the German acknowledges regret over how his Anfield career concluded and accepts full responsibility. He cites personal difficulties as he struggled to adapt following his recovery from illness.
"Yeah (I have regrets) but this is part of my life now," Babbel added. "You know, of course, I was a bit sad because after this fantastic first season.
"I always say, okay, this illness happened, you know, I can't change it anymore. And it was a bad period.
"The only thing that I sometimes think, if this illness would come, a year later, you know, that I could play a second year for Liverpool. But it's happened, you know, and to be fair, after this illness, I wasn't the same person as before.
"I don't know, maybe in England, it's the same. In Germany. You say that the most important thing is the health, but you just say it, you know? But I was in a bad period, and I really was lying on the bed and I was thinking: 'I give all my money back. I give all my titles back. The most important thing, I hope I get healthy again'.
"And, I had the luck to get past the bad illness. But I wasn't the same person as before because I got divorced so my wife left England, my kids left England. So I was alone there and something happened in my head. I wasn't normal anymore, you know, I went out a lot. I was drinking a lot. I wasn't professional anymore.
"My lifestyle didn't fix to a professional footballer. And, that was the reason why I had to leave this club. To go back to Germany first. I had more friends in Germany. My family is in Germany. So that was much easier to come back to the normal Markus than I was in this time after my illness in England."
Thankfully for Babbel, he reconciled and offered his apologies to former boss Houllier when he received an invitation to participate in the 'Celebration of the 96' Hillsborough 25th anniversary charity fixture at Anfield in 2014. Houllier tragically died in December 2020.
"Afterwards, the good thing for me was, the 25th Hillsborough anniversary, there was a game in Liverpool at Anfield," he said. "I was invited as well. And Gerard Houllier was the manager.
"I went to him. I said, 'Boss, I understand everything what you did. You were absolutely right. I was totally wrong. Sorry about this, but my head was lost. I was lost'.
"And so we had a good, good chat in this moment. And also with Phil Thompson because he said also many good things to me but I wasn't listening. But it is part of my life, you know. Of course I wish I could play a season, two seasons more for Liverpool. But, after this illness, I wasn't the same person anymore."
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