Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed the lengths the club went to in an attempt to sign Kylian Mbappe before the France forward joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe was heavily linked with a move to Anfield after emerging as one of Europe’s brightest young talents at Monaco in 2017. The forward ultimately chose PSG, despite holding talks with Liverpool.
Speaking ahead of France’s World Cup victory over Morocco, Klopp disclosed that Liverpool flew Kylian Mbappe and his family on a private jet as part of their efforts to convince him to join the club, describing it as the “most expensive non-transfer” in the club’s history.
He told Magenta TV: “The most expensive non-transfer we [Liverpool] invested in. We flew from Blackpool to Nice. In Nice, the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something.”
Jurgen Klopp continued: “We really went all out. Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food…”
When he was asked why the plane only went in a circle during the journey by a colleague, Klopp explained: “We couldn’t be seen. We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris!”
Klopp, who embraced Mbappe on the pitch after the France captain scored in the 2-0 victory over Walid Regragui’s Morocco to secure a place in the World Cup semi-finals, could soon come up against the forward at international level.
The former Liverpool boss is reportedly in talks to become Germany’s next head coach following Julian Nagelsmann’s departure after the team’s round-of-32 exit to Paraguay on penalties in Foxborough.
Klopp confirmed last week: “Yes, I can confirm the talks. Things moved pretty quickly. Julian [Nagelsmann] stepped down. The DFB are looking for a successor. And they’re talking to me.”
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