Klopp looks back on failed transfer pursuits involving Mbappé, Dembélé and Rabiot

The most piquant anecdote concerns the pursuit of Mbappé, which Klopp dated to 2017. At the time, the striker was on the verge of moving from AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain and eventually switched to the Seine rather than Anfield for what was then a record fee of €180 million. Klopp recalled: "Es war super, aber dann ist er nach Paris gegangen."

The most curious meeting: Klopp's evening with Mbappé

The incoming national team boss described the course of that meeting in particularly curious terms. The Liverpool delegation had travelled in by private jet, Klopp went on to report. "Dann sind wir im Kreis geflogen, haben mit der Familie gesprochen und lecker gegessen", the coach recounted. "Wir durften nicht gesehen werden", he added. The entire elaborate multi-million-pound poker came to no happy ending.

The real highlight of the evening had little to do with football anyway, Klopp revealed with a grin. "Dann ist mir das Handy auf den Boden gefallen. Der einzige Outcome an dem Abend war: Mein Handy war kaputt." The player's family had also taken their time, the coach remembered: "Er hat mich gefragt, wie's der Familie geht."

In retrospect, he was no longer sure whether the player had even known who the Liverpool delegation was. "Ich weiß jetzt nicht, ob der überhaupt wusste, wer wir waren", Klopp said, laughing. That did not call into question his respect for the player who is now a world star - quite the opposite: "Er ist der teuerste Nicht-Transfer, in den wir jemals investiert haben."

Dembélé and Rabiot: two further rejections

Ousmane Dembélé was also on Liverpool's shopping list at one point, according to Klopp's account. The winger, who would later rise to become world footballer of the year, moved from Stade Rennes in 2016 not to Anfield but to Borussia Dortmund, and later also to Paris. Dembélé's career path eventually led him to international honours, while Liverpool was left empty-handed.

The third name in Klopp's failed line-up is Adrien Rabiot. The club had also been on the trail of the midfielder, who now also plays for France, during Klopp's tenure, the TV pundit revealed. That transfer also failed to materialise.

Just a few hours after Klopp's revelations, the coach was on the touchline as France faced Morocco. The match ended in a 2-0 win for the Équipe Tricolore. The goals and assists were delivered, of all players, by Mbappé, who now plays for Real Madrid and has a market value of €180 million.

France's march through the tournament

France's record at this tournament makes for impressive reading: six games, six wins, 16-2 goals. The French created chance after chance and were barely troubled defensively - against this year's Africa Cup of Nations champions and 2022 World Cup fourth-placed side. "Unaufhaltsam" was the headline in the newspaper "L'Équipe" after the one-sided affair in Foxborough in the United States.

Mbappé himself expressed satisfaction after the victory. He was "sehr glücklich", said the 27-year-old, who was born on 20 December 1998. His club colleague Ousmane Dembélé gushed: "Kylian ist unglaublich." France head coach Didier Deschamps, who will step down after this World Cup, added: "Wenn du einen Kylian in der Mannschaft hast, musst du dir keine großen Sorgen machen."

The significance of Klopp's comments goes beyond the anecdote. They show how narrowly some big transfers are eventually decided - and how much money, logistics and personal commitment flows into such operations before a competitor wins the race. In Mbappé's case, the decision ultimately went in PSG's favour, where the striker cemented his career in the years that followed.

Implications for Liverpool and Klopp's look back

Klopp himself evidently does not regret the players' decisions at the time. Quite the opposite: looking at the World Cup and the French team's performances, he was able to experience on the touchline what became of those former transfer targets. His decision to go public with the story made headlines around the quarter-final.

In the longer term, Liverpool's failed pursuit of the three Frenchmen also had positive consequences. The club instead invested in other players who eventually became part of the side that under Klopp won the Champions League and the English league title, among other honours. Without the later PSG deal, Mbappé would probably never have ended up in Madrid, where he is now under contract as a centre-forward.

Klopp, who is widely regarded as Germany's incoming national team boss, is likely to bring his experience of failed mega-transfers to his new role. His contract as Global Sports Director at RB Leipzig runs until 2029. The transfer story surrounding Mbappé, Dembélé and Rabiot is a textbook example of why such personnel decisions are so difficult to plan for, even for top clubs.