If only we had good PR people, it wouldn't matter at all. As it stands, we seem to love PR disasters so your worry may be justified.There's another aspect to this, if we are beaten to our first attempted signing under Rodgers, & not a big name either, it would send a bad signal out.
When you consider the player's history with Rodgers too then it could also have been read as a slight towards him.
Not that we should break the bank, but not signing him may hold back another potential player or two we have in mind this summer.
I don't really care though. I want to see Suso in that position.