I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kylian Mbappe (right) is France's all-time leading goalscorer

Kylian Mbappe has revealed how "close" he came to joining Liverpool in 2016, saying he went against the advice of his mother who "fell in love" with Anfield.

The France and Real Madrid striker said the Reds tried to sign him at 18, while he was playing for Monaco in Ligue 1.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the club laid on a private jet and food for Mbappe and his family in an attempt to sign him, before he eventually joined Paris St-Germain.

Speaking to the Athletic, Mbappe said his mum was a "big fan" of Klopp and wanted her son to move to Merseyside.

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

"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'."

Mbappe, now 27, said his mother went out to Liverpool for the "first step" of the 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', said Mbappe.

"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."

Klopp, who spoke about the possible move on Magenta TV as a pundit at the 2026 World Cup, explained how a flight was taken from Blackpool to Nice in France, where "the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something".

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

He said they had not wanted to be seen having talks - but the meeting proved fruitless.

"We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris," Klopp added.

"It's a funny story," said Mbappe.

"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 hometown."

Mbappe later joined PSG on loan, in a deal including an option for the move to become permanent for 180m euros (£165.7m). He went on to spend seven years in Paris, becoming the club's record scorer before leaving for Real Madrid in 2024.

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