Private jet and luxury food weren't enough

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shared details of the club's ambitious attempt to recruit football superstar Kylian Mbappé in 2017, describing the failed transfer as the "most expensive transfer that never happened."

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We really went all in.

Klopp, currently in the United States as a pundit for Magenta TV and expected to be announced as the new German national team manager soon, recounted the lengths Liverpool went to. He explained that the club arranged a private jet trip for Mbappé and his family. "We really went all in," Klopp said. "We flew from Blackpool to Nice where the whole Mbappé family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something like that. We flew around, talked to the family and ate good food."

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We flew from Blackpool to Nice where the whole Mbappé family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something like that. We flew around, talked to the family and ate good food.

The goal of the clandestine meeting was to persuade the then 18-year-old Mbappé, who had impressed at Monaco the previous season, to join Liverpool. The club aimed to keep the recruitment drive low-profile, but the effort ultimately did not yield the desired outcome.

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The most expensive transfer that never happened.

Following the unsuccessful pursuit by Liverpool, Mbappé signed with Paris Saint-Germain on loan with an option to buy, a deal later activated for €180 million. He spent seven years at PSG, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer, before transferring to Real Madrid in 2024. "We flew around. It was great. Then he went to Paris," Klopp remarked.

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We flew around. It was great. Then he went to Paris.