France talisman striker Kylian Mbappe revealed his mother fell in love with Anfield when Liverpool were trying to rope him in 2017. Mbappe’s stint was coming to an end with Monaco but he was eventually signed by Paris Saint-Germain.
The forward admitted he was “close to Liverpool,” with his mother attending matches at Anfield “to imagine me in this stadium.”
Former Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp had previously revealed how the club had arranged a private jet to sign in the services of Mbappe.
“Liverpool really pulled out all the stops,” Klopp said on Magenta TV during World Cup. “We just flew in circles, talked with the family, and had a delicious meal. We weren’t allowed to be seen.
“We flew in circles — it was great — and then he went to Paris!”
Mbappé recalled in an interview with The Athletic: “It was while I was playing in Monaco. I had to take a decision. And yes, I was close to Liverpool. My mum was a big fan of Jürgen Klopp and the favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there.
“I didn’t listen because I wanted to play in my city, Paris. I didn’t want to leave my country before I was someone. But yes, my mum was always saying ‘Liverpool — you’re going to be there, playing at Anfield, it’s going to be insane for you.’ I was like, ‘OK!’
“She went there [for] the first step of the negotiations. She went to the city, she went to the stadium, she met the people. She was like, ‘It’s a wonderful club, everybody’s so kind, it’s a family club, a big club.’
“She went to Anfield and fell in love with it. She watched a few games alone, to feel the atmosphere, because she wanted to imagine me in this stadium.
“All the time we were talking. ‘What do you think, Mum?’ She’d say, ‘For me, you have to go to Liverpool.’ I said, ‘OK, OK, OK!’ because Jürgen Klopp was an amazing manager. I met him and had a wonderful relationship with him. I had big respect for him.”‘
Mbappé revealed he was receiving interest from the best clubs in European football.
“I remember we were on the plane and we were turning around and around in the air while he was explaining his project,” Mbappé said.
“I said, ‘You don’t need to convince me. You’re Jürgen Klopp, it’s Liverpool, a great club, so of course if I’m here, I have some interest. But I have other things, other projects, that are also good.’
“I said to him, ‘Whatever decision I take is going to be a good decision because we are talking about some of the biggest clubs in the world.’
“It’s a funny story. But in the end I took the decision to go to PSG because for me, born and raised in Paris, there was no better feeling than to show I could be a star in my home town.”
Mbappe has scored seven goals in as many games of La Liga this season for Real Madrid.
