Jürgen Klopp's Near-Miss with Kylian Mbappé and French Stars

In the cool New England air of Foxborough, amid the noise and neon of a major tournament night, Jürgen Klopp stood on the touchline and watched what might have been.

France’s stars were going through their warm-up, Kylian Mbappé among them, when Klopp – now a MagentaTV pundit rather than the heartbeat of Anfield – caught his eye. The two shared a brief reunion after Les Bleus’ quarter-final win over Morocco, Klopp then lifting an arm in acknowledgement towards Mbappé’s mother in the stands. A small gesture, but loaded with history.

Because Klopp has chased this generation of French talent before. And lost. Every time.

“I've already negotiated with three of their players and never got them,” he admitted, half laughing, half wincing. The list is brutal for any Liverpool supporter to hear in one breath: Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Adrien Rabiot. All pursued. None secured.

The one that still stings most came in 2017. That was the year Liverpool tried to pull off the most clandestine transfer pitch of Klopp’s career, a covert operation stitched together at 30,000 feet.

With Mbappé still at Monaco and the entire continent circling, Liverpool’s hierarchy decided to move in the shadows. They chartered a private jet out of Blackpool, of all places, and flew to Nice under the radar, determined to keep the meeting away from cameras and gossip.

“With Mbappé, it was before he went to Paris,” Klopp recalled. “That was roughly €500 million, the most expensive non-transfer we've ever made.”

In Nice, the cloak-and-dagger element went up a level. The whole Mbappé family boarded a private jet fitted out with five cabins. No terminals. No lounges. No chance encounters. Just a small group sealed off from the outside world, circling in the skies above the south of France.

“We flew from Blackpool to Nice. In Nice, the whole Mbappé family boarded a private jet with five cabins. Then we flew around in circles and had a delicious meal. We weren't allowed to be seen. It was great – and then he went to Paris.”

That last line still lands like a punchline with a bruise. Liverpool rolled out privacy, charm, and the promise of Anfield. Mbappé chose Paris Saint-Germain and a €180 million move instead.

The story since has been anything but simple. Mbappé became the face of PSG, but his time there turned into a constant tug-of-war over power and status, with Lionel Messi and Neymar forming a superstar triangle that never quite sat comfortably. The goals flowed; the politics never stopped.

Now 27 and in the white of Real Madrid, Mbappé has reset his career at the club that long felt like destiny. The medals will come, many already expect that. Yet one box remains unticked. He is still chasing the Champions League crown that continues to elude him, even as PSG – in this telling – have twice lifted the trophy in the two years since his departure, a twist that only sharpens the irony of that decision.

Klopp, meanwhile, has stepped off the club treadmill. After deciding to leave Liverpool in 2024, he has thrown himself into life behind the microphone, his energy redirected from the technical area to the studio. It is a pause, not a retirement.

The next chapter is already looming. At 59, he stands on the brink of taking over the Germany national team once the current tournament in the United States reaches its conclusion, ready to swap club obsession for the unforgiving rhythms of international football.

On this night, though, his past and present overlapped on the touchline. The coach who once flew secret loops over the Mediterranean to woo a teenager now watched that same player lead his country into another semi-final. Mbappé’s goal against Morocco had carried France through the last eight, his focus now fixed on dragging Les Bleus all the way to the trophy.

Klopp could only watch, remember, and wonder how different the story might have looked if that private jet, that secret meal, and that “most expensive non-transfer” had ended with Mbappé walking out at Anfield instead.