The Aporia · I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016

I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe

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Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Winter, J. (2026, September 22). I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c68042y9l4kno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Kylian Mbappe recently disclosed that he nearly signed with Liverpool in 2016 when he was playing for Monaco at age 18. His mother, a fan of Liverpool and then-manager Jurgen Klopp, wanted him to join the club but Mbappe decided against it to play in Paris. Klopp recalled arranging a private jet and meals for Mbappe’s family during negotiations, which ultimately did not lead to a signing as Mbappe chose to stay in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kylian Mbappe, now 27 and playing for Real Madrid, revealed in an interview with The Athletic that he came close to joining Liverpool when he was 18 years old. At the time, Mbappe was playing for Monaco in Ligue 1. His mother, a fan of former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, wanted him to move to Merseyside. According to Mbappe, his mother even visited Liverpool as part of initial negotiations, describing it as a "wonderful club" and a "family club."

Despite the interest from Liverpool, Mbappe ultimately decided against moving abroad before establishing himself in his home country. Instead, he signed with Paris St-Germain (PSG) on loan and later permanently for approximately 180 million euros (£165.7m). Klopp has since commented on this potential transfer during a pundit appearance at the 2026 World Cup, noting that Liverpool arranged a private jet and meals for Mbappe's family as part of their recruitment efforts.

Written for “Mbappe Transfer Rumors” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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“Article A discusses Mbappe's near transfer to Liverpool in 2016, while Article B covers his goal and injury during a recent UEFA Nations League match for France.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

69/100

BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

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Publisher

BBC News · 4716 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Jude Winter

1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 "But in the end, I took the decision to go to PSG because for me, born and raised in Paris, there was no better feeling than to show I could be a star in my hometown." Mbappe later joined PSG on loan, in a deal including an option for the move to become permanent for 180m euros (£165.7m).

2026-09-22 · assertive framing · I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe

The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

France Liverpool PSG Paris Real Madrid

Subjects

Mbappe PERSON · 7× Liverpool ORG · 6× Klopp PERSON · 4× Paris GPE · 4× France GPE · 2× PSG ORG · 2× Real Madrid ORG · 2× Kylian Mbappe PERSON · 1× Monaco GPE · 1× Reds ORG · 1×

Narrative

Klopp, who spoke about the possible move on Magenta TV as a pundit at the 2026 World Cup, explained how a flight was taken from Blackpool to Nice in France, where "the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet with five rooms or something".

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22

2026-09-22 · BBC News

I was close to joining Liverpool in 2016 - Mbappe · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Published Kylian Mbappe has revealed how "close" he came to joining Liverpool in 2016, saying he went against the advice of his mother who "fell in love" with Anfield. asserted

who → publish → Anfield

The France and Real Madrid striker said the Reds tried to sign him at 18, while he was playing for Monaco in Ligue 1. asserted

he → say → Ligue

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the club laid on a private jet and food for Mbappe and his family in an attempt to sign him, before he eventually joined Paris St-Germain. asserted

he → say → Germain

Speaking to the Athletic, Mbappe said his mum was a "big fan" of Klopp and wanted her son to move to Merseyside. asserted

son → speak → Merseyside

"I was close to [joining] Liverpool. asserted

I → join → Liverpool

She wanted me to go there," he said. asserted

he → want → ?

"I didn't listen because I wanted to play in my city, Paris. asserted

I → listen → city

I didn't want to leave my country before I was someone. asserted

I → want → country

"But yes, my mum was always saying, 'Liverpool - you're going to be there, playing at Anfield, it's going to be insane for you'." asserted

it → say → you

Mbappe, now 27, said his mother went out to Liverpool for the "first step" of the negotiation. " asserted

mother → say → negotiation

She went to the city, the stadium, she met the people. asserted

she → go → people

She was like, 'it's a wonderful club, everybody's so kind, it's a family club, a big club', said Mbappe. asserted

Mbappe → say → ?

"She went to Anfield and fell in love with it. asserted

She → go → it

She watched a few games alone, to feel the atmosphere, because she wanted to imagine me in this stadium." asserted

she → watch → stadium

family → speak → rooms

"We really went all out. asserted

We → go → ?

Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food," Klopp said. asserted

Klopp → fly → food

He said they had not wanted to be seen having talks - but the meeting proved fruitless. asserted

meeting → say → talks

"We flew in a circle. asserted

We → fly → circle

And then he went to Paris," Klopp added. asserted

Klopp → go → Paris

"It's a funny story," said Mbappe. asserted

Mbappe → say → ?

"But in the end, I took the decision to go to PSG because for me, born and raised in Paris, there was no better feeling than to show I could be a star in my hometown." Mbappe later joined PSG on loan, in a deal including an option for the move to become permanent for 180m euros (£165.7m). uncertain

move → take → euros

He went on to spend seven years in Paris, becoming the club's record scorer before leaving for Real Madrid in 2024. asserted

He → go → 2024