Kylian Mbappe explains why he defied his mother’s wishes by turning down Liverpool transfer
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Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he defied his mother’s wishes by joining Paris Saint-Germain instead of Liverpool when he was 18.The French forward announced himself on the European stage during Monaco’s run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2016/17 and went on to sign for PSG the following summer, where he became a global superstar before moving to Real Madrid in 2024.In an extensive interview with The Athletic, the 27-year-old spoke of how his mother had been trying to nudge him towards a move to Anfield, where Jurgen Klopp had just completed his first full season in charge.Mbappe’s mother had wanted him to join LiverpoolMbappe recalled: “It was while I was playing in Monaco. I had to take a decision and yes, I was close to 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 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 watched a few games alone, to feel the atmosphere, because she wanted to imagine me in this stadium.” (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)Mbappe also revealed that he’d held negotiations with Klopp whilst airborne on a private jet which flew in circles, so that nobody would catch wind of the two men being involved in talks over a potential move to Liverpool.Despite his enormous respect for the German, the forward concluded: “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 hometown.”Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustBoth Mbappe and Liverpool did quite alright afterwards!Mbappe became a phenomenon at the Parc des Princes, scoring 256 goals in 308 appearances, although it’s ironic that PSG have won the Champions League in both seasons since his exit for Real Madrid.He’s just three goals away from 450 in his senior club and international career at the age of just 27 and is unsurprisingly his country’s leading goalscorer of all time, whilst also becoming just the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final (which France still lost on penalties to Argentina in 2022).(Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)It’s easy to try and imagine what might’ve been for Liverpool had the Frenchman heeded his mother’s wishes and come to Anfield when he was 18, but the Reds certainly didn’t do too badly without him.That same summer, a certain Mo Salah joined from Roma to complete an attacking triumvirate which also featured Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mane and would go on to conquer England and Europe for the subsequent five years.Would Mbappe have elevated that formidable attack to even greater heights?