Kylian Mbappe is set to terrorise Liverpool’s full-backs in the Champions League tonight, but a report in L’Equipe (translated by Teamtalk) has claimed the forward nearly joined the Reds in 2017.
Before sealing a move to Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp reportedly spent “several hours” trying to convince the teenager to make the move to Anfield.
Mbappe would have become the equal-highest earning player at the club, alongside Philippe Coutinho – who himself would leave for Barcelona in January.
Despite his best efforts (Mbappe was supposedly “charmed by Klopp’s eloquence and enthusiasm), the Merseysiders were unable to afford the fee commanded by AS Monaco.
With the final fee PSG paid somewhere in the region of £155 million, some Liverpool fans may have breathed a sigh of relief when the Frenchman finally transferred to Paris.
For scale – Liverpool’s winger duo of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah cost a combined £78 million. Good value, eh?
