Klopp reveals Liverpool flew Mbappe's family on secret jet in failed 2017 transfer bid

Jurgen Klopp has lifted the lid on what he calls Liverpool’s “most expensive non-transfer” — a secret private jet rendezvous with Kylian Mbappe’s family in the summer of 2017 that failed to prevent the teenager from joining Paris Saint-Germain.

Speaking to Magenta TV, the former Liverpool manager described flying a club delegation from Blackpool to Nice, where the entire Mbappe family boarded a private jet for an airborne meeting designed to avoid public attention. “We really went all out,” Klopp said. “Then we flew around in a circle, talked with the family, ate good food. We couldn’t be seen. We flew in a circle. It was fantastic. And then he went to Paris.”

All of Europe’s leading clubs were pursuing Mbappe after he signalled his desire to leave Monaco following a breakthrough season in Ligue 1. Klopp personally led the Liverpool delegation to the south of France in what proved to be a clandestine but ultimately futile charm offensive.

Mbappe joined PSG initially on loan before the transfer was made permanent the following year for £153 million. He spent seven years at the Parc des Princes, becoming the club’s all-time record goalscorer, before departing for Real Madrid.

The revelation comes as Mbappe continues to shine on the international stage, sitting at the top of the World Cup scoring charts after netting against Morocco to send France into the semi-finals.