Jürgen Klopp's Pursuit of Kylian Mbappé: The Transfer That Never Was
On a humid evening in Foxborough, away from the roar of the pitch, a very different kind of drama played out on the touchline.
Jürgen Klopp, baseball cap pulled low, watched Kylian Mbappé go through his warm-up with France. No tactics board, no technical area, no fourth official in his ear. Just a 59-year-old coach, now a MagentaTV pundit, standing in the shadows with a story only he could really feel.
When the final whistle went on France’s quarter-final win over Morocco, Klopp made his way towards Mbappé. A hug, a few quiet words, then a wave to the striker’s mother. It looked like a simple reunion. It was anything but.
The transfer that never was
The sight of Mbappé in blue dragged Klopp back seven years, to an audacious operation that never made the back pages.
He had tried to sign him. Not just him, either. Ousmane Dembélé. Adrien Rabiot. Three pillars of Les Bleus, three transfer pursuits that ended in the same place: nowhere near Anfield.
"It's extremely tough for me right now. I've already negotiated with three of their players and never got them," Klopp admitted, half-laughing, half-wincing at the memory.
The Mbappé chase in 2017 was the boldest of the lot. Liverpool went undercover. Discretion became an obsession. The club even chartered a private jet from Blackpool to Nice, a cloak-and-dagger mission designed to keep the entire operation invisible to the media.
Klopp painted the picture himself.
"With Mbappe, it was before he went to Paris. That was roughly €500 million, the most expensive non-transfer we've ever made.
"We flew from Blackpool to Nice. In Nice, the whole Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five cabins. Then we flew around in circles and had a delicious meal. We weren't allowed to be seen. It was great – and then he went to Paris."
One of the most explosive forwards of his generation, circling above the French Riviera with his family and a manager desperate to sell him a vision of Anfield. A private jet, five cabins, good food, big ideas. No cameras. No leaks. No deal.
Paris, Madrid, and what might have been
Mbappé chose Paris Saint-Germain in a €180 million move, a decision that reshaped European football and left Liverpool with nothing more than a story and a sizeable bill for a plane.
The Frenchman’s years in Paris brought goals, titles, and tension. Lionel Messi and Neymar shared the same dressing room, but harmony never quite matched the hype. Internal rivalries chipped away at the project, and for all the fireworks, the Champions League trophy never landed in Mbappé’s hands.
He has since crossed the border to Real Madrid, the club of white shirts and European nights, looking to finally claim the one title that still eludes him. In this retelling, there is a sting: PSG, in this version of events, have gone on to win the Champions League twice in the two years since he left.
Klopp watched all of it from a distance, his own era at Liverpool peaking and closing in the same window. He built a side that conquered Europe and England, yet the thought lingers: what would that Liverpool team have looked like with Mbappé flying down the left, the Kop roaring him on?
Klopp between past and future
Now, Klopp stands in a strange in-between.
He walked away from Anfield in 2024, worn down by the relentlessness of elite management, and has stepped into the media world with the same energy, just pointed in a different direction. The break is temporary. Everyone knows it. So does he.
The next chapter is already forming. The 59-year-old is poised to take over from Julian Nagelsmann as Germany’s national team coach once the current major tournament in the United States comes to an end. From club obsessiveness to the rhythms of international football, from late nights at Melwood to camps with the Mannschaft.
On the other side of the touchline, Mbappé has no time for nostalgia. His goal against Morocco has pushed France into the semi-finals, and his focus is locked on leading Les Bleus a step closer to another major title.
Klopp can afford to reminisce about private jets, missed transfers, and the most expensive non-deal of his career. Mbappé cannot. His story with France is still being written, one knockout tie at a time.
Somewhere down the line, their paths may cross again with more than a wave and a memory between them. For now, Foxborough offered a glimpse of football’s sliding doors: the coach who almost signed the superstar, and the superstar still chasing the one prize that continues to dance just out of reach.
