The time PSG and Liverpool battled for Mbappé

Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool open this Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. in a tie that promises to be one of the most exciting of the last five years in the Champions League. Both teams have been sweeping all competitions since the start of the year and the double encounter could perfectly be, due to the level of their squad and their moment of form, a Champions League final .

Before, the two clubs were involved in a relentless bidding for Kylian Mbappé in 2017 that culminated in the transfer of the current Real Madrid player to PSG for 180 million euros.

Liverpool tried, but failed, to sign Mbappé twice before he signed his contract with PSG. The first time was in 2015, when the striker had not yet made his professional debut .

Klopp, who was appointed manager of the Reds months earlier, held talks with the player, who, however, in view of the gigantic step that a move to the Premier League could entail, opted to sign his first professional contract with Monaco, with whom he exploded months later, winning Ligue 1 in 2017, as well as the semi-finals of the Champions League, a competition in which he broke all records of precocity and was decisive in the final phase against City, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Mbappé's spectacular performance, combined with a practically unparalleled emergence in France in the 21st century, unleashed a long-distance race among the big European clubs to secure the services of the Monaco player.

As in 2015, Klopp personally met with Kylian, holding a conversation that lasted many hours . During the meeting, the German, after having studied his style of play for months, offered him to be the highest paid player at Liverpool alongside Coutinho, but as he could not be guaranteed a starting position, a crucial requirement in the negotiations, the Bondy star declined his offer, the same scenario as with Real Madrid and Arsenal, managed by Wenger.

That’s when PSG entered the scene. The club from the French capital turned the transfer market upside down in 2017. It paid Neymar’s release clause of €220 million, the most expensive signing in football history, and persuaded Mbappé that the best option for his career was to join Paris Saint-Germain.

On 31 August 2017, the Parisian club solemnly announced the signing of European football’s most promising striker, in a deal that included a loan with a mandatory buyout in 2018 for €135 million (the remaining €45 million, reaching a total of €180 million, were paid in 2022, after renewing his contract).

Liverpool, however, did not give up. In 2021, Klopp kept in constant contact with Mbappé , but the Merseyside club realised from the start that the operation was impossible.

The player wanted to fulfil his dream of succeeding at Real Madrid and the legal representatives of the French national team captain made this clear to the German coach. PSG, once again, got their way, as they did not even listen to the Whites' offer and, after months of incessant negotiations, with two states, Qatar and France, interfering, agreed to extend his contract in May 2022 for two seasons.

There was another transfer attempt by the historic English club. In 2023, days after Mbappé, by means of a letter on letterhead , formally informed PSG of his intention not to renew in 2024, one year before his contract expires, Liverpool tried to sign him, with the same outcome as in 2021, since the player did not want to be transferred and adhered to the content of his letter, to leave in June 2024 without extending.

The striker signed for Real Madrid in the summer and Liverpool withdrew from the bidding. A war of many years that is extrapolated, this Wednesday, to the field of play between PSG and the Reds.