Adidas insist they pulled out of talks with Liverpool over extending their relationship due to the money the English giants were demanding.

It had been suggested that Liverpool voluntarily ended the agreement with Adidas after a dispute about control over merchandise not related to the team's kit.

But on Monday night, the American firm dismissed that claim, insisting the club were demanding unrealistic levels of money for the success they were enjoying on the field.

"The gap between their performance on the field and what the number should be is not in balance," said Herbert Hainer, Adidas's chief executive officer, in the Telegraph.

"Then we said, 'OK we will not do it'. That's the end of the story. It all depends on the success and the effort and the popularity, the exposure on TV, revenue you can generate by merchandising,

"This all has to be brought in line between what you offer and what you get. We thought that what Liverpool were asking and what they were delivering was not in the right balance."

Liverpool have now signed a club-record £25 million contract with Boston-based Warrior Sports which will last six years. The deal, which is Warrior's first major contract in football, is worth almost double the agreement with Adidas.