L’Équipe report that Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé almost signed for Leipzig as a youth player in 2015, from the Monaco academy.
Ralf Rangnick has explained that as then-Leipzig director of sport, he travelled to Paris to meet with Mbappé’s family, having been convinced that the Frenchman was a fit for the club’s style of play.
The German explains that the future World Cup winner’s father told him that if the director himself were to become manager, he would allow his son to leave for Leipzig “with his eyes closed”.
With Rangnick only taking the reins of the team six months later, Mbappé would sign a professional contract with Monaco in the meantime. Gérard Houllier, then an advisor for Red Bull, would also attempt to convince the striker to join.
For the player himself, however, the prospect of joining Leipzig was never a priority, with interest from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea also on the table at the time.
Les Parisiens face Leipzig tonight for their fourth match of the Champions League group stage, going into the game top of their group ahead of the trip to Germany.