Kylian Mbappé's Near Move to Liverpool in 2016

Kylian Mbappé has lifted the lid on just how close he came to becoming a Liverpool player in 2016 – and how he turned down his mother’s favourite move to chase a dream in Paris.

The France captain, now at Real Madrid, was still a teenage sensation at Monaco when Liverpool made their play. Jürgen Klopp was on the phone, Liverpool’s recruitment team were convinced, and the club rolled out a full red-carpet charm offensive.

Mbappé, speaking to The Athletic, admitted the pull of Anfield was strong – at least for one member of the family.

“I was close to [joining] Liverpool. The favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there,” he said.

His mother, a “big fan” of Klopp, pushed hard for Merseyside. She travelled to England for what Mbappé described as the “first step” of negotiations, determined to see the city and feel the club for herself.

“She went to the city, 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’,” Mbappé recalled.

Then came Anfield. The famous old ground did the rest.

“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.”

Liverpool did everything they could to turn that imagination into reality. Klopp later revealed on Magenta TV, while working as a pundit at the 2026 World Cup, just how far the club went in their pursuit.

A flight was arranged from Blackpool to Nice. Waiting there: the entire Mbappé family and a private jet “with five rooms or something”, as Klopp put it. Liverpool’s manager and his staff boarded, and the sales pitch began in the sky.

“We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food,” Klopp said.

The secrecy was deliberate. They did not want to be seen holding talks. No airports, no lounges, no chance encounters. Just Liverpool, Mbappé and his family, high above the Mediterranean, trying to shape a future.

“We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris,” Klopp added with a wry smile.

Mbappé can laugh about it now.

“It’s a funny story,” he said. But the decision he made was anything but casual.

“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.

“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 hometown.”

Liverpool’s grand plan collapsed with that choice. Mbappé instead joined Paris St-Germain initially on loan from Monaco, in a deal that included an option to buy for 180m euros (£165.7m). He stayed seven years, became the club’s record goalscorer and the face of French football, before finally moving to Real Madrid in 2024.

His mother once pictured him under the lights at Anfield. He chose the Parc des Princes and then the Bernabéu instead – and changed the landscape of European football in the process.