Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he was very close to joining Liverpool in 2016. His mother was impressed by Anfield and the club, but Mbappé decided to stay in Paris. Later he reached PSG and then Real Madrid.
Sports News: France and Real Madrid star striker Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he was very close to joining Liverpool in 2016. At that time he was playing for Monaco and his mother was also very excited about Liverpool. However, Mbappe ultimately did not listen to his mother's advice and decided to stay in Paris.
Liverpool tried to sign Mbappe in 2016
Kylian Mbappe revealed that Liverpool showed strong interest in signing him when he was playing at Monaco. At that time, Mbappe was still a young player, but his talent was rapidly coming into focus in European football.
Mbappe told that Liverpool had become his mother's favorite destination at that time. His mother was a big fan of Jurgen Klopp and wanted her son to go to England and play for Liverpool.
Mbappe told The Athletic that he was close to a move to Liverpool, but did not decide to leave Paris at that stage of his career.
Mother had said- it would be great to play in Anfield
According to Mbappe, his mother wanted him to play for Liverpool. He told that his mother believed that playing at Anfield would be a very special experience for her son.
Mbappé said that he did not listen to his mother at the time because his dream was to play in his hometown Paris. He believed that before going abroad, he wanted to establish himself as a big player in his country and city.
He told that he did not want to leave his country until he made himself an established name.
Mother went to Liverpool and saw the stadium and club
Mbappe also revealed that his mother had gone to Liverpool and took part in the initial process of negotiations with the club.
He toured the city, saw Anfield and met people associated with the club. According to Mbappe, his mother liked the atmosphere of Liverpool very much.
He told that after meeting the people of the club, his mother had described it as a club where one feels a family atmosphere. He also watched some matches at Anfield so that he could understand the atmosphere there and imagine his son playing on this ground.
According to Mbappe, his mother was impressed by the atmosphere at Anfield and she liked the club.
Jurgen Klopp also told the whole story
Liverpool's then manager Jurgen Klopp also later spoke about the incident surrounding his attempt to bring Mbappe to the club.
According to Klopp, Liverpool had made special arrangements for Mbappe and his family to be flown to France for talks. He told that a flight from Blackpool had gone to Nice, where Mbappé's entire family boarded the private plane.
Klopp said that there were many rooms on the plane and the club had left no stone unturned in hosting the family. According to him, during the visit, there were talks with the family and good food was also eaten.
Klopp also said that at the time he did not want information about this conversation to become public. Despite this, Liverpool's efforts to bring Mbappe to the club were not successful.
Why did Mbappe choose Paris?
The biggest reason for Mbappé was his association with Paris. He was born on 20 December 1998 in Paris and spent his childhood in Bondi, a suburb of Paris. According to Paris Saint-Germain's official profile, he began his professional career at Monaco's academy and joined PSG in 2017.
Mbappe said that for him the possibility of becoming a star in his city was very special. He believed that making his mark by living in Paris was more important for him than going abroad at that time.
In his words, he wanted to prove himself in his city and his country. This was the reason why despite Liverpool's efforts, he chose Paris instead of going to England.
Mbappe reached PSG in 2017
Mbappe moved from Monaco to PSG in 2017, a year after a potential transfer to Liverpool. According to the official information of PSG, he joined the club on 31 August 2017.
UEFA's 2017–18 Champions League transfer records also record Mbappé's move from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain.
His career at PSG was very long and full of records. According to official club information, Mbappe played for PSG from 2017 to 2024 and became the club's all-time top goalscorer.
Real Madrid arrived after seven years in PSG
Mbappe moves to Real Madrid in 2024 after spending seven years in Paris. Real Madrid officially announced on 3 June 2024 that the club and Mbappé had agreed to a five-year contract.
On 16 July 2024, he formally signed his contract with Real Madrid. According to the club, the agreement was for five years.
After joining Real Madrid, Mbappe had said that playing for the club was his childhood dream. He also told that he had been waiting for this opportunity for many years.
Had the decision been different in 2016, the story would have been different.
Mbappe's latest conversation has brought back memories of that period of his career when Liverpool was trying to sign him. At that time, personal talks with the family and even travel arrangements were made by the club.
But Mbappé decided to stay in his hometown Paris. He later had a brilliant career at PSG and became the club's record goalscorer. He then reached Real Madrid in 2024, where the club officially signed him on a five-year contract.
In this way, the transfer of 2016 which could never be completed is now included in the most talked about untold stories of Mbappe's career. Mbappe himself has also remembered this entire incident as a funny story.