Report: How Liverpool nearly signed Kylian Mbappe in 2022

Liverpool agreed personal terms with Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2022, a report has claimed, but failed with a bid of €200m for the former Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Mbappe inked a new contract with PSG in the summer of 2022 but reportedly asked to leave towards the end of that transfer window amid frustrations towards the club's failure to sign his preferred players, namely Robert Lewandowski and Bernardo Silva.

According to L'Equipe, Mbappe's entourage confronted PSG with a request to be sold, and the French club responded by challenging the France international to find a suitable offer.

Real Madrid made an approach but tensions between the two clubs at that time saw the door closed immediately, and the report claims that Liverpool also threw their hat into the ring.

Liverpool agreed a short-term contract with Mbappe which would have allowed him to move on to Madrid in the future, and it is said they even prepared a bid worth €200m, which equates to £168.9m in 2024.

PSG's sporting director at the time, Antero Henrique, responded by demanding twice that fee, knowing full-well no club would be prepared to pay that sort of money, and the transfer uncertainty was soon brought to an end.

It is claimed that this was the start of Mbappe's eventual decision not to trigger the extension clause in his contract. The 25-year-old has previously admitted PSG were made aware of his decision on July 15, 2022.

Mbappe's desire to leave became public in 2023, and he eventually sealed a free transfer to Real Madrid earlier this year.

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