Kylian Mbappe has admitted he came close to signing for Liverpool as an 18-year-old, and that the person pushing hardest for the move was his mother. She went to Anfield, watched a couple of games on her own, and decided that was where her son belonged. He did not listen.
The Real Madrid striker was at Monaco at the time, in the middle of the season that announced him to Europe. Liverpool wanted him badly enough to fly the whole family out on a private jet. It did not work, and Mbappe ended up at Paris St-Germain instead.
What his mother saw at Anfield
Speaking to the Athletic, Mbappe said his mum was a big admirer of Jurgen Klopp and treated the trip to Merseyside as more than a negotiation.
"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'," he said. "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."
Her verdict was blunt. "My mum was always saying, 'Liverpool - you're going to be there, playing at Anfield, it's going to be insane for you'."
The private jet that flew in circles
Klopp told the story from his side while working as a pundit at the 2026 World Cup. Liverpool flew from Blackpool to Nice, picked up the entire Mbappe family and stayed in the air so nobody would spot the meeting.
"The entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something," Klopp said. "We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food. We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris."
Mbappe called it a funny story. His reasoning at the time was about identity rather than football. "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."
How the alternative worked out
He joined PSG on loan with an option that later turned permanent for 180m euros, roughly £165.7m. Seven years in Paris followed and he left as the club's record scorer before moving to Real Madrid in 2024. He is now France's all-time leading goalscorer at 27.
It is difficult to argue the decision cost him anything. Still, the version of the last decade where Mbappe spends his prime at Anfield under Klopp is one Liverpool supporters will chew over for a while.
Transfer context: Kylian Mbappe, 27, Real Madrid forward and France's record goalscorer. Liverpool attempted to sign him from Monaco in 2016 when he was 18. He joined PSG on loan with a permanent option worth 180m euros (£165.7m), spent seven years there and became the club's all-time top scorer before joining Real Madrid in 2024. Jurgen Klopp, then Liverpool manager, is now head coach of Germany.
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