Jurgen Klopp's Near-Misses with Kylian Mbappe and France's Stars

Jurgen Klopp stood on the touchline in Foxborough, smiling, waving, playing the pundit. But his eyes gave him away.

As Kylian Mbappe and his France teammates went through their warm-up before the quarter-final against Morocco, the former Liverpool manager watched with a mixture of pride and regret. This was not just another night on duty for MagentaTV. It was a reminder of what might have been.

After the final whistle, Klopp reunited briefly with Mbappe, then lifted an arm in greeting towards the striker’s mother in the stands. A small gesture, loaded with history.

The Transfers That Never Were

Those memories spilled out soon after. Klopp admitted that the sight of France’s stars stirred an old frustration: he had once tried – and failed – to bring three of them to Anfield.

"It's extremely tough for me right now. I've already negotiated with three of their players and never got them," he said, referring to Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Adrien Rabiot. Three conversations, three near-misses, no signings.

One of those pursuits became the stuff of cloak-and-dagger fiction.

The €500 Million “Non-Transfer”

Klopp revealed the undercover operation Liverpool launched in 2017 to court Mbappe before his move to Paris Saint-Germain. The club went to extraordinary lengths to stay in the shadows.

"We flew from Blackpool to Nice," he recalled. Waiting there was the Mbappe family and a private jet with five cabins reserved for a meeting that had to stay invisible.

In his words, it was "roughly €500 million, the most expensive non-transfer we've ever made."

They boarded, took off, and then simply circled above the French coast. No cameras, no leaks, just Klopp, Mbappe and his family talking football over what he described as a “delicious meal”. The plan was simple: stay off the radar, make the pitch, change Liverpool’s future.

"It was great – and then he went to Paris," Klopp said, the punchline delivered with the kind of resigned humour only a manager who has lived through the transfer market can summon.

Liverpool’s charm offensive, and that carefully plotted flight path, still ended the same way: Mbappe chose PSG and a €180 million move to the French capital.

Mbappe’s Path, Klopp’s Pause

The decision shaped both careers. Mbappe became the face of PSG, sharing a dressing room with Lionel Messi and Neymar, a superstar among superstars. The project glittered, but it never quite settled. Internal rivalries shadowed the trophies.

He has since taken the next step, joining Real Madrid and resetting his ambitions in Spain. For all the medals and headlines, one target still eludes him: the Champions League crown he is desperate to lift. In this version of events, PSG – in this article’s account – have already claimed it twice in the two years since his departure, a twist that only sharpens the focus on what Mbappe still chases.

On the other side of that sliding door, Klopp built a Liverpool side that conquered Europe and England without the Frenchman, but the thought of Mbappe in red never quite left the imagination.

Now, Klopp has stepped away from the Anfield dugout, having decided in 2024 that his cycle at the club was complete. He is embracing the quieter intensity of punditry, the chance to watch games like this one from a different angle, even as the next chapter looms.

The 59-year-old is poised to return to the frontline as Germany’s national team coach once the major tournament in the United States comes to an end. Another giant job, another stage, another chance to shape a generation.

Two Careers, One Night in Foxborough

Mbappe, 27 and at the peak of his powers, has more immediate concerns. His goal against Morocco helped carry France into the semi-finals, his focus locked on leading Les Bleus towards another title. The noise around his club future, the stories of past negotiations, all fade when the knockout rounds arrive.

On the touchline in Foxborough, though, the past and present briefly collided. A manager who once tried everything – even flying in circles above the Riviera – to sign a teenage prodigy, and a superstar who chose a different road.

They shared a moment, a wave, a memory.

The next time they meet, will it be across a technical area rather than a television gantry?