France captain Kylian Mbappé has lifted the lid on how his mother wanted him to sign for Liverpool, though he eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Monaco in 2017.
Liverpool were close to signing Mbappé from Monaco after his mother fell in love with the Reds. Mbappé admitted that she was mesmerized by the Anfield ambience.
Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp also detailed how Liverpool held private talks with Mbappé’s representatives on a plane, but they all came to nought.
According to Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp as quoted by ESPN, the team from Liverpool flew from Blackpool to Nice in an attempt to speak with Mbappé, and his family joined them on the “private jet, with five rooms.”
The current Germany boss explained: “Liverpool really pulled out all the stops,” he added. “We just flew in circles, talked with the family, and had a delicious meal. We weren’t allowed to be seen.
“We flew in circles — it was great — and then he went to Paris!”
Mbappé added in an interview with The Athletic: “It was while I was playing in Monaco. I had to take a decision. And yes, I was close to Liverpool. My mum was a big fan of Jürgen Klopp and the favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there.
“I didn’t listen because I wanted to play in my city, Paris. I didn’t want to leave my country before I was someone. But yes, my mum was always saying ‘Liverpool — you’re going to be there, playing at Anfield, it’s going to be insane for you.’ I was like, ‘OK!’
“She went there [for] the first step of the negotiations. She went to the city, she went to the stadium, she met the people. She was like, ‘It’s a wonderful club, everybody’s so kind, it’s a family club, a big club.’
“She went to Anfield and fell in love with it. She watched a few games alone, to feel the atmosphere, because she wanted to imagine me in this stadium.
“All the time we were talking. ‘What do you think, Mum?’ She’d say, ‘For me, you have to go to Liverpool.’ I said, ‘OK, OK, OK!’ because Jürgen Klopp was an amazing manager. I met him and had a wonderful relationship with him. I had big respect for him.”‘
At the age of 18, the young star played for Monaco, and the best teams in Europe vied for the chance to convince him that he belonged with them.
Mid-Air Pitch
“I remember we were on the plane and we were turning around and around in the air while he was explaining his project,” Mbappé said.
“I said, ‘You don’t need to convince me. You’re Jürgen Klopp, it’s Liverpool, a great club, so of course if I’m here, I have some interest. But I have other things, other projects, that are also good.’
“I said to him, ‘Whatever decision I take is going to be a good decision because we are talking about some of the biggest clubs in the world.’
Paris Over Premier League
“It’s a funny story. But in the end I took the decision to go to PSG because for me, born and raised in Paris, there was no better feeling than to show I could be a star in my home town.”
Following the talks that took place between Liverpool and him, Mbappé went on a loan deal with PSG that had a buyout clause for him to make the move permanent for €180 million. He left to join Real Madrid in 2024.
Mbappé has been performing impressively in his international career too, as he bagged the World Cup in 2018 as a youngster and became the top scorer of the World Cup in terms of goals scored by overtaking Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi.
