Kylian Mbappe reveals how close he was to joining Liverpool: ‘My mum wanted me to go’ | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe has revealed he came close to joining Liverpool as a teenager before his rise to the top of the sport, with his mother and agent keen for him to move to Anfield.

Mbappe said in an interview with The Athletic that he came close to joining the club in the summer of 2017, when he had a private meeting with then-Reds boss Jurgen Klopp on a private jet over the south of France.

His mother and agent Fayza Lamari was also present for the meeting, with Klopp trying to persuade Mbappe - then aged 18 - to move to Anfield rather to French giants Paris-Saint Germain.

Mbappe said: “It was while I was playing in Monaco. I had to take a decision. And yes, I was close to Liverpool. My mum was a big fan of Jurgen Klopp and the favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there.

“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.’ I was like, ‘OK!’”

He recalled how Lamari went to Liverpool early in negotiations and was drawn to the feel the club had. “She was like, ‘It’s a wonderful club, everybody’s so kind, it’s a family club, a big club.’

“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.

“All the time we were talking. [I would say:] ‘What do you think, Mum?’. She’d say, ‘For me, you have to go to Liverpool’. I said, ‘OK, OK, OK!’ because Jurgen Klopp was an amazing manager. I met him and had a wonderful relationship with him. I had big respect for him.”

Klopp revealed details of the meeting on the private jet earlier this year, telling German outlet Magenta TV that it was “the most expensive non-transfer we ever made”.

Ultimately the journey from Blackpool to Nice, and his mother’s enthusiasm, proved insufficient to sway Mbappe. He joined PSG initially on loan for the 2017-18 season before signing permanently the following year, remaining in Paris until a move to Real Madrid in 2024.

He recalled: “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 home town.”