Klopp reveals Liverpool's secret private-jet pursuit of Mbappé before his 2017 PSG move

The secret flight

Jürgen Klopp has revealed an elaborate, clandestine operation Liverpool mounted in 2017 to sign Kylian Mbappé before the French striker joined Paris Saint-Germain. Speaking as a pundit for MagentaTV during the 2026 World Cup, the former Liverpool manager described the pursuit as "the most expensive non-transfer" the club ever invested in. The plan involved flying from Blackpool to Nice, where Mbappé and his entire family boarded a private jet equipped with five rooms. To keep the meeting hidden from media and rival clubs, the plane then circled over French territory while talks took place.

We flew from Blackpool to Nice. There, the entire Mbappé family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something. We really went all out.

The pitch to the family

Klopp explained that the in-flight meeting was designed to be invisible to outsiders. "We flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food," he said, adding that they could not afford to be seen. Mbappé's mother, who runs a consulting company for professional footballers and represents her son, was present throughout the discussions. Klopp described the experience as "fantastic" but ultimately fruitless. The German coach, now 59 and widely expected to become the next head coach of the German national team, shared the story after cameras captured him embracing Mbappé and chatting with his mother at the Gillette Stadium in Boston following France's 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco.

We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris.

Mbappé's 2017 context

In the summer of 2017, Mbappé was an 18-year-old emerging star at Monaco. He had just completed a breakout season under Leonardo Jardim, playing 44 matches, scoring 26 goals and providing 14 assists across all competitions, while winning the Ligue 1 title and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. Klopp noted that he had negotiated with three players of that calibre and none had joined Liverpool. Despite the elaborate pitch, Mbappé opted for PSG, moving initially on loan with a mandatory purchase option set at 180 million euros (£153 million).

The aftermath

Mbappé spent seven years at PSG, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer before departing for Real Madrid in 2024. Klopp, who managed Liverpool from 2015 to 2024, won the Champions League and the Premier League during his tenure. That same summer of 2017, Liverpool secured Mohamed Salah, who went on to define an era at Anfield before his own departure this summer. Klopp's revelation came during his work as a World Cup analyst, shortly before France, led by Mbappé (who equalled Messi's record of eight World Cup goals), defeated Morocco to reach the semi-finals.