"We flew in a circle. We couldn't be seen." That's Jurgen Klopp's summary of Liverpool's most elaborate — and ultimately fruitless — transfer pursuit, and it tells you everything about how far the club went to land Kylian Mbappe before he chose Paris Saint-Germain.
Speaking as a pundit for Magenta TV during the World Cup, Klopp finally put some flesh on the bones of a story that had long circulated in football circles. Liverpool flew from Blackpool to Nice, picked up Mbappe and his entire family, and took them aboard a private jet fitted with five rooms. Good food. Serious conversation. A loop over the Mediterranean to avoid prying eyes.
And then he went to Paris anyway.
The most expensive non-transfer in Liverpool's history
Klopp's own framing of it — "the most expensive non-transfer we invested in" — lands somewhere between self-deprecating and genuinely bittersweet. Because what Liverpool were chasing wasn't just a striker. They were chasing the player who would go on to become one of the most lethal forwards in European football over the next decade, first dismantling defences at PSG and then doing it again at Real Madrid.
At the time, Mbappe was still at Monaco, weighing up whether to take the Premier League gamble or stay closer to home in France. Liverpool clearly believed they were in genuine contention — you don't charter private jets and orchestrate cloak-and-dagger reunion flights for a player you think is a long shot.
He chose PSG. The rest is history that didn't involve Anfield.
Klopp's next chapter could bring a rematch of sorts
The irony is that Klopp is now heavily tipped to become Germany's next head coach after Julian Nagelsmann's departure, which puts him on a potential collision course with Mbappe at Euro 2028. From circling above Nice together to lining up on opposite sides of a major international tournament — football rarely writes a tidier subplot.
Klopp confirmed the DFB have approached him and that talks are ongoing, though his existing contract with Red Bull means nothing is straightforward. "I usually honour contracts," he said — while also making clear he's interested.
For Liverpool supporters, the private jet story is a glimpse into what might have been. For everyone else, it's a reminder that even the most charming managers in the world don't always get their man.
