Kylian Mbappe has officially signed for Real Madrid following the expiry of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, ending any more promising links with Liverpool.
Since his appearance at Monaco, Mbappe has regularly touted a move to Anfield – and in fact, Liverpool have explored a deal for the Frenchman on several occasions.
However, it became increasingly clear that he was never set for Merseyside, with his new club the only realistic suitors.
Mbappe has signed a five-year deal with Real Madrid, joining the European champions as part of arguably the most complete squad of any club in many, many years.
Although it is technically a free transfer, Mbappe has reportedly agreed a signing-on fee worth around £85m, while his expected wages are around £650,000-a-week.
By comparison, Liverpool’s current top earner is Mohamed Salah, on £350,000 a week.
Klopp was not involved in Fenway Sports Group’s talks with Mbappe over a private jet back in 2017, but the now-departed manager accepted the owners’ stance on any deal.
Speaking at ‘An Evening With Jurgen Klopp’, the club’s send-off at the M&S Bank Arena in May, Klopp admitted that players like Mbappe were not us.
“Can anyone mention that the city of Liverpool and LFC would be a club with endless money?” he asked the 11,000 supporters present.
“Spend what you want, Kylian Mbappe is coming here, Bellingham is coming here, Haaland is coming here. It doesn’t fit, it’s not us. It’s not us.
“That’s how it is. Honestly, I have no problem with that.
“People can judge me for the final I lost, no problem, and there are some who do.
“Or they judge me for the final we won, and that’s fine. I didn’t care, to be honest.
“We won what we won and we tried as hard as we could. But we did it the Liverpool way, that’s how I see it.
“It means that this city, where the city has come from in recent decades, where the club has come from maybe since the 90s, where we haven’t won anything for a while, it’s so impressive what we’ve done together.
“And I think with our owners, because I know them, they are good people.
“It’s not like they don’t care about what we think, ‘you’re always asking for money’ and stuff like that.”
Some fans will be left disappointed by FSG’s perceived lack of ambition when it comes to the transfer market.
But Mbappe’s move sums up the situation for a club like Liverpool, who struggle among the elite without the oil-funded, state-backed wealth boasted by many of their closest rivals.
“We have owners who feel responsible for the club,” continued Klopp.
“Are they the best in the world? I don’t know the others, I can’t say that. But they also work very hard to make us successful.
“I felt supported. If other people say ‘if he could have got more support, he could have won more’. I wouldn’t have a clue.
“We did it the best we could, and I’m fine with that.”
