Mbappe Says Liverpool Move Was Nearly Real in 2016
The short version
- Mbappe says he came close to joining Liverpool in 2016 under Jurgen Klopp.
- His mother favored Liverpool and encouraged him to move to Anfield.
- He chose to stay in France, joining Paris Saint-Germain from Monaco.
- That summer Liverpool signed Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum and promoted Trent Alexander-Arnold.
- Mbappe, now 27, later moved to Real Madrid.
The Real Madrid forward says his mother favored a transfer to Anfield while Jurgen Klopp was building his Liverpool side.
Kylian Mbappe has disclosed that a transfer to Liverpool was a genuine possibility in 2016, when Jurgen Klopp was in the early years of rebuilding the Anfield squad. Speaking in a recent interview, the Real Madrid forward said his mother pushed hard for the switch.
"I was close to [joining] Liverpool. The favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there," Mbappe said. He explained that he turned the idea down because he wanted to stay in Paris and establish himself in his home country before moving abroad.
Instead of heading to Merseyside, Mbappe went from Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain, where he developed into one of the world's leading players. The 27-year-old later joined Real Madrid, where he is now among the game's biggest names.
The timing would have placed Mbappe in a Liverpool side that added Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum that same summer and promoted Trent Alexander-Arnold from its academy. Mohamed Salah did not arrive until the following year, and Virgil van Dijk's record transfer came 18 months later.
Had Mbappe chosen Liverpool over PSG, the ripple effects could have been significant, potentially affecting Salah's own path to Anfield. As it happened, both the player and the club went on to achieve success on their separate trajectories.
