🚨 Manchester United Were Close to Signing Kylian Mbappé Before His Breakthrough
Manchester United could have had one of football’s biggest superstars long before Kylian Mbappé became a global phenomenon.
According to former Manchester United assistant coach Ryan Giggs, the club were alerted to Mbappé while he was still a teenage prospect at Monaco in 2015 — before he had established himself in the first team or become one of the most expensive players in football history.
Giggs revealed that he was approached by a French football scout who told him about a young player named Kylian Mbappé and urged Manchester United to take a closer look.
The recommendation was taken seriously. Giggs and fellow United assistant Albert Stuivenberg went to watch Mbappé with Monaco’s youth team and were reportedly immediately impressed by what they saw.
“We were just like, ‘Wow! What is this?’” Giggs recalled.
United subsequently sent another scout to watch Mbappé in a match against Paris Saint-Germain.
However, the response from the scouting department was not what Giggs expected.
According to his account, the scout told him that they were “not too sure about him” and United ultimately decided to leave the situation there.
That decision would soon become a huge footballing what-if.
Mbappé made his senior debut for Monaco in December 2015, shortly before his 17th birthday. During the 2016/17 campaign, he exploded onto the European scene, helping Monaco win Ligue 1 and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
By then, Manchester United were interested again.
José Mourinho reportedly identified Mbappé as a major target, with United making a substantial offer for the teenage forward in 2017. The Guardian reported that Monaco rejected a £72 million bid and wanted around £100 million for their prized youngster.
Mbappé eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he became one of the world’s leading forwards, before moving to Real Madrid in 2024.
Looking back, the story is remarkable.
Manchester United were not completely unaware of Mbappé. They had actually been alerted to him while he was still a relatively unknown teenager, watched him personally and recognised his exceptional potential.
The missed opportunity came before the world truly discovered him.
And that makes the story even more fascinating: United didn’t simply miss a player who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They had the information, watched the youngster and had an opportunity to act — but ultimately decided not to pursue him at that stage.
Years later, Mbappé would become the superstar everyone knows today.
For Manchester United fans, it remains one of those fascinating transfer “what ifs” that shows just how difficult it is to identify which teenage talents will eventually become world-class stars.