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

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.”