Every elite footballer carries a version of the road not taken, but few are as evocative as the one Kylian Mbappé has now described: a teenage prodigy at Monaco, a mother enamoured with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, and a plane circling in the sky while the two men spoke about the future.
Mbappé has revealed that his mother was firmly in Liverpool’s corner during the defining transfer decision of his young career, pushing for a move to Merseyside rather than the French capital he would eventually choose.
The favorite destination of my mum was Liverpool, she wanted me to go there. It’s a funny story because it’s the truth.” – Kylian Mbappé
According to Mbappé, the pull toward Liverpool was rooted in genuine admiration within his family for the club’s manager at the time. As he weighed his options while still at Monaco, the connection to Klopp’s project on Merseyside was more than a passing interest, it was, in his words, close to becoming reality.
I had to make a decision while at Monaco, I was close to Liverpool because my mother was a big fan of Klopp’s Liverpool, an excellent manager. I met him, I have an incredible relationship with him, true respect for him.” – Kylian Mbappé
The forward went on to describe one of the more memorable exchanges from that period: a conversation with Klopp conducted, fittingly, in transit. Mbappé recalled the German coach laying out his vision for the club, only to be met with an admission that no further persuasion was necessary.
Mbappé says the deciding factor was a desire to play in his home city and country at that stage of his career.
I remember, we were on the plane circling around, and he was explaining his project while I was telling him: ‘You don’t need to convince me more, you are Jürgen Klopp. It’s Liverpool. It’s a big club.'” – Kylian Mbappé
Despite that admiration for both the manager and the club, Mbappé chose a different path. Rather than crossing the Channel, he opted to stay close to home, joining Paris Saint-Germain and beginning the chapter of his career that would establish him as one of the sport’s most prolific forwards.
In the end, I did not listen to my mum. I wanted to go to my city, to Paris. Play in France. I didn’t want to leave my country at that time.” – Kylian Mbappé