Mbappé's Close Call with Liverpool: The Decision Behind His Move to PSG
Kylian Mbappé’s career reads like a script with only one direction: up. From the explosion at AS Monaco to superstardom at Paris Saint-Germain and, finally, the white shirt of Real Madrid two years ago, his rise has felt inevitable.
It almost went a very different way.
In an interview with The Athletic, the 2018 World Cup winner admitted he came close to joining Liverpool while still at Monaco – a decision that, for a moment, split footballing logic and family feeling.
“My mum's favourite destination was Liverpool; she wanted me to go there,” Mbappé said. “There was a time, when I was at Monaco, when I had to make a decision and I was close to joining Liverpool. My mum was a big fan of Jürgen Klopp, and he's an amazing manager. I met him and I have a wonderful relationship with him. I have great respect for him.”
So the scene was set: one of Europe’s brightest young forwards, a historic English club on the rise under a charismatic coach, and a family pushing towards Anfield. Mbappé even sat down for a long conversation with Klopp, the German already building his legend at the Reds.
The pull was strong. Just not strong enough.
“I didn't listen to (my mum),” Mbappé admitted. “I wanted to go to my city, Paris. I wanted to play in my own country. I didn't want to leave my country.”
That choice sent him to PSG in a €180 million move that reshaped French football. The rest is already part of the club’s history. Across seven seasons in the capital, Mbappé became the face of Les Rouge et Bleu and their most prolific finisher of all time: 256 goals and 110 assists in 308 matches, a staggering return that backed up the hype with cold numbers.
Domestic trophies piled up, records fell, and the Parc des Princes became his stage. Liverpool remained the road not taken, Klopp the manager he admired from afar rather than the man guiding his early prime.
Mbappé got his wish: Paris, his city, his country. Now he wears the white of Real Madrid, but the revelation lingers. For a player whose path has looked so certain, there was a moment when Anfield almost rewrote the story.
