"When I came here he had one year left on his contract," said the new Liverpool boss. "Real Madrid knew that, and when a big club like them come knocking you cannot control it.
"Michael will have a medical with Madrid before the deal is completed.
"I was very happy with Michael and I wanted him to stay. The problem was he only had a year left on his contract.
"Real Madrid started talking with his agent and in the end it was an impossible situation to control.
"The money from his sale will be used to balance the team. We still have good forwards here and a good team.
"We did our best to keep him but, as I say, in the end it was a difficult situation for us."
