When Liverpool's manager and a French teenager's family took to the skies in a private jet flying in circles, it was the culmination of one of football's most elaborate transfer chases—yet it ended in nothing.
In 2017, Liverpool launched an extraordinary bid to sign an 18-year-old Kylian Mbappé from Monaco. Then-manager Jürgen Klopp arranged a private jet from Blackpool to Nice, where Mbappé and his family boarded for a secret airborne meeting. "We flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food," Klopp later recalled. But despite the effort, Mbappé chose Paris Saint-Germain on loan instead, signing permanently a year later for €180m (£153m). Klopp called it "the most expensive non-transfer" Liverpool ever made, estimating the total package at roughly €500m including wages and agent fees.
“Inside Liverpool's private-jet courtship of Kylian Mbappé and why it failed.”
Mbappé had burst onto the scene with Monaco, helping the club reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2016-17. Top European clubs clamoured for his signature. His mother, Fayza Lamari—a Liverpool fan—manages his career and was part of the high-altitude negotiations. Klopp revealed the story while working as a pundit for German broadcaster Magenta TV during the 2026 World Cup, where France had just reached the semi-finals. Mbappé, now 27, spent seven years at PSG as their record scorer before joining Real Madrid in 2024.
For UK readers, the tale sheds light on the lengths elite clubs go to land superstars. It shows how transfers involve not just money but intricate personal courtship—private jets, family meals, and even flying patterns designed to avoid detection. Klopp's anecdote also highlights the fierce competition for generational talents and how even a fully committed club can lose out to rivals with different offers or appeal. The episode remains a case study in modern football recruitment.
Q: How much did Liverpool actually offer for Mbappé? Klopp did not disclose a specific transfer fee, but said the club invested heavily in the effort, describing the overall package—including wages and fees—as "roughly €500m," making it the most expensive non-transfer in Liverpool's history. The eventual permanent fee PSG paid was €180m.
Q: Why did Mbappé choose PSG over Liverpool? The sources do not give a direct reason. Klopp only noted that after the meeting, "he went to Paris." Mbappé joined PSG on loan in August 2017 and signed permanently the following year, becoming the face of the club's ambitious project.
Q: Is Jürgen Klopp still managing? Klopp left Liverpool in 2024 after nine years, having won the Champions League and Premier League. He is now a pundit and is widely expected to be named head coach of the German national team.
What happens next? Klopp's managerial future could be decided soon, while Mbappé continues his career at Real Madrid. The story of Liverpool's airborne pursuit of Mbappé will remain a vivid footnote in transfer history, illustrating how close—and how far—clubs can go in their quest for greatness.