Of course we didn't, Liverpool waited to finalise Barry deal. But after the deal failed, Ranieri said he *chose* Poulsen and gets full resposibility for his tactical choice, so this means he had a choice - possibly board looked for another, easier option to buy a regista.
And if he said that Alonso was too slow and too risky "because of our wingers who don't come back to help the defence", then he would have vetoed the deal even if we had the possibility to buy him, just like he rejected "some other option" when he chose Poulsen. I think it's quite logical.