Jürgen Klopp just dropped a bombshell. In a candid interview, the Liverpool boss revealed the club went to extraordinary lengths—private jet meetings included—to sign Kylian Mbappé back in 2017. And they failed.
Call it the one that got away. Call it a $300 million what-if. Whatever you label it, Klopp's admission is a rare peek behind the curtain at how close Liverpool came to landing the man who’s now a World Cup winner and likely Ballon d’Or favorite.
“We sat with him on a private jet. We talked tactics, vision, everything,” Klopp said. “It was the most expensive non-transfer this club has ever been involved in.”
Expensive doesn't begin to cover it. In 2017, Mbappé was a teenage sensation at Monaco, tearing up Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Liverpool weren't alone in the chase: Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City all circled. But Klopp and the Liverpool brass believed they had a shot. They pitched the project. The history. The fans. The chance to build something special.
Mbappé listened. He nodded. He asked questions. Then he chose PSG for a fee that eventually reached €180 million. Liverpool walked away empty-handed, left to wonder what could have been.
The Private Jet Meeting That Changed Nothing
Details of the meeting matter. Klopp didn't just send an email or make a phone call. He boarded a plane with club officials, flew to meet Mbappé, and made a direct, personal appeal. That's the kind of effort that usually lands the star. But Mbappé had other ideas.
“We were very close,” Klopp said. “But then Paris came with something we couldn’t match. Not just money—the project, the city, the family connection.”
Mbappé grew up in Bondy, a suburb of Paris. Staying in France meant staying close to home. PSG offered a Champions League-ready squad, absurd wages, and the chance to be the face of a nation. Liverpool offered history and Klopp's charisma. It wasn't enough.
What If Liverpool Had Landed Mbappé?
Let's play the game. If Mbappé arrives at Anfield in 2017, everything changes. He joins a front three of Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah. Suddenly, Liverpool have the most terrifying attack in Europe—not just in 2018, but for years.
Mbappé's pace, his finishing, his instinct for big moments—imagine that alongside Salah's left-footed magic. Klopp’s gegenpress would have been lethal with a 19-year-old Mbappé leading the charge. Liverpool might have won the Premier League sooner. They might have added another Champions League or two. The dynasty Klopp built might have been even more dominant.
Instead, Liverpool spent the €180 million elsewhere—on Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, and others. Those signings worked out brilliantly, winning the lot in 2019 and 2020. But the shadow of Mbappé lingers. Every time he tears through a defense in a PSG shirt, Liverpool fans groan.
Klopp admitted the miss still stings. “You don't get many chances for players like him. We had our chance, and we couldn't close it.”
The Economics of a Non-Transfer
Klopp called it the “most expensive non-transfer.” He's not wrong. Liverpool invested time, resources, and emotional capital into a deal that went nowhere. Private jets cost money. Scout reports cost money. Negotiation hours cost money. And the opportunity cost? That's the real killer.
Had Liverpool known Mbappé was a lost cause, they might have pivoted harder for other targets. They might have signed a different young star—someone like Erling Haaland or a younger striker. Instead, they gambled on a dream and lost.
But here's the thing: Liverpool's model doesn't rely on €200 million transfers. They build through data, coaching, and team cohesion. The Mbappé pursuit was an exception, a break from the norm. And it failed. That experience might have reinforced Klopp's belief in the system—signing players who fit the system, not chasing superstars who might not.
Still, you have to wonder: What if they’d gotten him? The history of European football might look different.
Mbappé’s Legacy: The One That Got Away
Mbappé went on to win multiple Ligue 1 titles, a World Cup, and a Nations League. He’s scored goals at a rate that rivals Messi and Ronaldo. Liverpool, meanwhile, have won everything in sight too. They don’t need pity—they’ve had their glory.
But the two paths diverge. Mbappé’s career is a story of individual brilliance and team success, but never in the Premier League. Liverpool's story is one of collective triumph, but they never had that one transcendent talent that opposing fans fear above all others.
Klopp’s revelation hits at a deeper truth: football is full of near-misses. Every transfer window has a “what if.” But when the player is Kylian Mbappé, and the meeting was on a private jet, the what-if echoes louder than most.
So next time you see Mbappé score a hat-trick in a Champions League tie, remember: It could have been for Liverpool. Klopp knows it. And he just admitted it.
