Klopp wanted Mbappe: "He was our most expensive non-transfer"

Jürgen Klopp once wanted to lure Kylian Mbappe to Liverpool.

When the French superstar was still playing for AS Monaco, they traveled to Nice by private jet and met with Mbappe and his family there.

Klopp recounted to "MagentaTV": "He is the most expensive non-transfer we ever invested in. We flew from Blackpool to Nice with Liverpool, then the entire Mbappé family came into the private jet with five rooms."

"It was great, but..."

"Then we flew around, talked to the family, had a delicious meal. (…) We weren't allowed to be seen. It was great," revealed the 59-year-old, "but then he went to Paris."

The "Reds" came away empty-handed in their pursuit of the star attacker; Mbappe moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. The two-time Champions League winner paid €180 million for his services.

Not a good feeling about Dembele

Klopp would also have liked to see Ousmane Dembele at Liverpool, back when the now world-class player was still at Stade Rennes. During the conversation with the then-teenager, Germany's soon-to-be national team coach already had a bad feeling.

"I don't know if he even knew who we were. Then my phone fell on the floor. The only outcome that evening was: my phone was broken," Klopp laughed.

Negotiated with three players - none came

However, a certain melancholy also arises as the German looks at the pitch during the quarter-final match between France and Morocco: "For me, it's extremely tough right now: I've negotiated with three of those players before and never got them."

Besides Mbappe and Dembele, Adrien Rabiot is also meant.