Liverpool, Kylian Mbappe and the ‘sporting project’ pitch that could surprise Real Madrid
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Kylian Mbappe is a name that has drifted across the corridors at Liverpool for years.
It was back in 2017 when the Reds were first asked about interest in the then-Monaco forward.
At the age of 18 – and having sprung to prominence in an upwardly mobile and likable Monaco side – Mbappe was the object of affections for the big fish in the Ligue 1 pond in Paris Saint-Germain.
The French powerhouses were not the only club keen and Liverpools name was floated as a tentative and speculative destination for a young player with the world at his feet four years ago.
To the surprise of those making enquiries at the time, senior figures at Liverpool refused to reject the links outright and instead made it known that their hat was ready to be thrown into the ring if encouragement was given.
Inevitably, though, it would be PSG who would secure the services of European footballs most in-demand youngster, sealing an initial loan with a view to a permanent deal at an eye-watering £166million.
Over four years on, Mbappe remains the most in-demand youngster on the continent.
And crucially, he is set to become the hottest free agent in possibly all of sport next year.
So, as an ultimately underwhelming transfer window passes at Anfield, can a thrifty Liverpool realistically expect to be part of the hunt for Mbappe as he enters the final year of his contract in Paris?
Have Liverpool, in effect, been storing their funds for an all-out charm offensive over the coming months?
Anfield insiders are fully aware of the continued links, even if they have come from various parts of the continent and have not always contained entirely accurate details.
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One source told the ECHO back in April that a then-impending agreement between RedBird Capital and club owners Fenway Sports Group “does not mean were going to be buying Kylian Mbappe this summer”.
Klopp himself has been directly asked about Mbappe on a number of occasions over the last two years and the ECHO was one of just a handful of publications in the room when the question was put to the Liverpool boss first hand in late 2019 at Melwood.
“Buying this calibre of player is difficult,” Klopp said at the time. “I don’t see any club at the moment who can buy Kylian Mbappe from PSG.
“I don’t see any club, that is how it is. And we are involved in the clubs that cannot do it. It is as easy as that.
“OK, from a sporting point of view, there are not a lot of reasons to not sign him. What a player he is. But it is about the money of course. No chance. Absolutely no chance. Sorry for killing that story.”
In the winter of 2019, it seemed impossible that a club of Liverpools financial position under the prudent guidance of FSG would ever be able to afford both the transfer fee and contract package to take Mbappe away from arguably the richest side in world football.
Even as the then-European champions swept their way towards Premier League glory, Mbappe seemed a fanciful notion for even the most searing optimist.
Close to two years later, however, the 22-year-old is preparing to become a free agent, ready to take his pick for his next destination.
Real Madrid remain odds-on favourites after bids of around £200m were wafted away by the oil-rich, Qatari-owned PSG on Tuesday, with some reports suggesting he will now join the La Liga side on a free next year.
This will not be confirmed until January at the earliest, though.
What can be offered on the pitch?
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Liverpool may not necessarily be frontrunners, given the forceful approach from Real in the last week or so, but there is little to stop the Anfield hierarchy attempting to make their own pitch to the French forwards representatives.
With Manchester City fixated on Harry Kane at Tottenham, Manchester United already in possession of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho and Chelsea having forked out close to £100m for Romelu Lukaku, the feeling persists that few genuine proposals will be forthcoming from the Premier League.
One report last week suggested “an unnamed English club” had sounded out Mbappes availability, even if it took a quantum leap to believe Liverpool had done so with eyes on paying a transfer fee for the in-demand Mbappe.
The Reds, though, with their ageing frontline and need to refresh the squad, may just feel Mbappe could spearhead the next phase of Klopps assault on the games biggest trophies.
At some point, the club will need to make a big call over the arrival of a marquee attacker to supplement the options already in place.
By next summer, the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino will be gearing up for their sixth season together at Anfield. They will all be in their 30s.
If the Frenchman valued a sporting project for his next move, Klopps side have plenty going for them.
With new contracts for Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson secured this summer, Klopp will be able to retain the nucleus of the squad that were champions of England, Europe and the world in 2020.
Another tilt at Premier League and Champions League glory will be expected this season as Klopp aims to add to his glittering array of honours.
Wages
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A key issue, inevitably, will be the salary that Mbappe will rightly feel he can command.
Liverpools wage bill is one of the biggest in the sport, with the most recent estimate coming in at around £320million.
It is thought, though, that a big portion of that is through the bonuses achieved during a period where they won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League between June 2019 and 2020.
Mohamed Salah is believed to be the highest-paid player at Anfield on around £200,000-per-week and Mbappe will find higher salaries at clubs like Real Madrid, whose deadline day attempts to sign him were strong.
This, admittedly, is an area where Liverpool – or rather owners FSG – would have to break the mould and the bank if they are serious about bringing in a player of his quality to Anfield.
That could risk upsetting the apple cart of those who have established themselves as elite players during their time at Anfield.
“The club is self-contained in Chapel Street, in Anfield and in Kirkby and the ownership, back in Boston, trusts us to get on with it,” says one source about how Liverpools operation works close up.
“Mike Gordon supports the day-to-day operations and helps Michael Edwards and Jurgen make sure that everything is right there.
“And then everyone else just works to ensure that the football side of things has nothing else to worry about other than that. I think youve seen the fruition of that over the last few years.
“The club is well organised with great people and it also benefits from being part of a broader sports organisation.
“Remember Financial Fair Play is based on legitimate revenue coming in, so the more we can do of that the more money weve got to spend on the pitch.”
Nike involvement?
A familiar theory around Mbappe has emerged in recent times following Liverpools link up with Nike.
The Reds took New Balance to court in an attempt to engineer the American giants to step in as their kit manufacturers in October of 2019 before they eventually began a five-year agreement at the start of August last year.
To many, Nike and Liverpools partnership could pave the way for Mbappe to move to Anfield when his time at Parc-des-Princes is over.
The reality is much different.
“Its a lovely conspiracy theory, that,” says sports marketing executive Tim Crow. “But I have never ever seen it operate in practice.
“Its simply because the two things dont work in tandem like that.
“The relationships that the manufacturers have with the clubs and the relationship they have with the talent – while there is some synchronicity there sometimes like if a Nike player goes to a Nike club or Adidas player etc – generally speaking, those two sets of relationships are not done in any sense at all expecting there to be some influence behind the scenes.
“They are very separate agreements.”
The claim that Mbappe – or any other high-profile player, for that matter – would pay for his own transfer fee through shirt sales alone is also another myth.
Mr Crow, who has previously advised the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United on marketing projects, adds: “There are various aspects to it, but fundamentally, people who say a player will pay for himself in shirt sales dont understand how agreements between the clubs and the sports brands work.
“So, typically, the clubs only earn a small percentage of each shirt sold. Thats generally speaking between five and 10 per cent and in many cases as well, they dont start earning that until the clubs have actually achieved a certain level of sales anyway.
“Thats basically the situation and that is why the sums dont work out.
“So even the most optimistic, lets say you multiply the shirt sales by 10 per cent, having applied the top end of the pricing, the numbers just dont add up.
“There was a lot of hot air around Paris Saint-Germain and Lionel Messi and people made giant assumptions.
“PSG only sell about one million shirts [a year], and the fact is as well, there arent many fans who will go and buy an extra shirt.”
The player himself
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Mbappe himself is reported to be a Real Madrid fan.
Born near the Canal de lOurcq in Paris in 1998, Mbappes early memories of football on the continent were likely to have been dominated by los Blancos Galacticos era.
While the Spanish royals hoovered up some of the finest players in the game like Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Brazil icon Ronaldo, Mbappes hometown club, PSG, were struggling to make serious in-roads in the Champions League.
It is why he was said to be keen on a move to the Spanish capital in the dying embers of the summer transfer window, despite Madrids apparent financial predicament and unbalanced and ageing squad.
Mbappe is said to be viewed as the player to transform Madrids fortunes and as one of the two footballers tipped to shine brightest in the post-Ronaldo-and-Messi era, they will no doubt return for the France World Cup winner.
Liverpool, though, have caught Mbappes eye before.
Asked in 2019 who his preferred team to play with is on the immensely popular FIFA franchise, Mbappe said: “Maybe Liverpool because they won the Champions League.”
And speaking about Liverpools impressive march towards the 2019/20 Premier League title in January of last year, Mbappe described Klopps side as “a machine.”
“What Liverpool do at this moment is amazing,” he said. “Theyre like a machine, theyve found a rhythm and are like we play again, we play again. “Theyve lost zero games. When you watch you think everythings easy but thats not easy.
“The guys are focused, they play games every three days and they win, they win, they win. “Now the problem is that everybody watches Liverpool, and everybody watches what we can do against them, so now they have to show they are strong again but its a very good team with a very good manager.”
In a crowded market against clubs with bigger resources, Liverpool, ultimately, may find themselves squeezed out when the play for Mbappes affection really starts.
Despite their relative stagnation in recent years, the lure of Real Madrid could still prove to be too powerful where this particular transfer target is concerned.
But as Klopps “machine” – to use Mbappes own description – gets set to reboot this season, why should they feel they cannot at least bring some ammunition to the bidding wars?