Kylian Mbappe reportedly agreed to join Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain after feeling 'betrayed' by the French side .
The summer of 2022 saw Mbappe and PSG once again embroiled in a contract battle, with it looking likely he would leave the French capital to join Real Madrid. Eventually, he decided to sign a new-two year deal, which expired earlier this year, paving a path for him to join Real this past summer .
However, according to a report from L'Equipe , the Mbappe saga could have played out very differently. The French outlet claims Mbappe agreed to terms with Liverpool on a short-term deal, only for that to collapse due to PSG's demands over a transfer fee.
Having signed a new deal in 2022, Mbappe is said to have immediately felt betrayed by PSG due to unfulfilled recruitment promises. He asked to leave the club just months after signing the new deal before the end of the transfer window, and even missed the opening game of their 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign due to injury.
Liverpool reportedly tried to sign Mbappe in 2022, tabling a bid of $220m (£168m) which was deemed too low by PSG, who wanted double for the French forward.
Come the summer of 2023, Mbappe was ready once again to leave Paris, with Real Madrid and Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal both interested in signing the forward. Al-Hilal's efforts to recruit Mbappe would have seen them sign the French captain on a short-term deal that would allow him to move to Real Madrid the summer after.
With the 25-year-old entering the final year of his 2022 deal, PSG were keen to receive some money for the forward they paid $195.4m (£149m) for back in 2017 when they signed him from Monaco. However, with Mbappe having no intention of moving to Saudi Arabia, even on a short-term deal, the Frenchman opted to stay in Paris.
And with Real Madrid certain he would join them on a free the following summer, which he did, they decided they would wait for Mbappe. Liverpool's interest should come as no surprise either, with the club having spoken to him back in 2017 when he was at Monaco prior to him signing for PSG.
"We [Mbappe and Liverpool] talked a little bit, but not too much," he told The Daily Telegraph . "I talked to Liverpool because it's the favorite club of my mum, my mum loves Liverpool. I don't know why, you will have to ask her. It's a good club and we met them five years ago. When I was in Monaco I met them. It's a big club."
Liverpool.com says: Frankly, $440m for Kylian Mbappe on a short term deal is absolutely insane. Even $220m on a short term deal for Mbappe is insane. Granted, he is arguably the best forward in world football, would have scored goals for Liverpool, and potentially helped them to win the Premier League last term.
But sometimes, the best deals you make are the ones you don't. Bringing in Mbappe would have given Liverpool a quick sugar rush, but it would have brought about its own challenges, especially when you consider the fact he probably would have left on a free to join Real Madrid come the end of his short-term deal.
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