Kylian Mbappe failed to score on Chelsea trial, rejected Arsene Wenger and met Liverpool owners on private jet

Kylian Mbappe has a queue of Premier League clubs hoping to rival Real Madrid for his highly-coveted signature this summer.

The France superstar will soon become the hottest free agent in world football after informing Paris Saint-Germain that he will leave.

Real Madrid once again looks like the most probable destination for Mbappe, having come so close to signing him in the summer of 2021.

Although the 25-year-old ultimately decided to extend his stay at PSG for another two seasons, the links to Madrid have never left.

But this is also true of long-standing interest from the Premier League, with English clubs tracking Mbappe since he was a child.

Chelsea

The Blues' continued struggles in the Todd Boehly era may preclude them from revisiting any move for Mbappe - but they were once at the front of the queue.

Former Stamford Bridge scout Daniel Boga, the brother of ex-Chelsea winger Jeremie, watched the France superstar as a teenager for Bondy, where Mbappe's father, Wilfried, was the manager.

Mbappe and his parents were invited to a trial in London where he played in a friendly win over Charlton, his solitary game for Chelsea.

Mbappe told FourFourTwo magazine: “I was still young back then, maybe 10 or 11. I went to London and spent just under a week over there. I trained at Chelsea and we played a friendly match against Charlton Athletic.

“We won 6-0 or 7-0. I played upfront, but I don’t think I scored. It was great – it was my first experience abroad and a chance for me to see what the game was like in England.”

Following the match, Chelsea were keen for Mbappe to feature in a second trial but his mother/agent Fayza Lamari refused.

Boga told the Athletic: “You know English football — you tackle, you track back players when you lose the ball. He wasn’t like that. When he lost the ball, he stopped playing.

“So Chelsea said, ‘We want to see him again and we want to see this part of his football’.

“But then the mum said, ‘No, we won’t come again’. I was translating. “She said, ‘Tell them, he won’t come back. If you want to sign him, you sign him now’. And she said, ‘In five years’ time, you will come back for him for £50million’. She said, ‘Translate that’.”

Arsenal

Mbappe would ultimately make his first significant career move in 2013 when he joined AS Monaco's youth setup.

His rapid rise to the senior side led to renewed interest from around Europe, with Arsenal pushing heavily to sign him.

Legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger returned to his former side in 2016 to try and tempt Mbappe to follow Thierry Henry's path in swapping Monaco for north London.

In an interview with BeIN Sports from 2017, Wenger said: "The player would tell you that I was at his home last year to try to get him here.

"Because he was at the end of his contract but Monaco managed to keep him and the decision was very, very tight.

"But I could understand it as well because he was educated there and at the end decided to stay there."

A year later, Mbappe joined PSG for £167.5m, with the man himself admitting that Wenger acted like a ‘gentleman’ after being rejected.

He told France Football: "A little while ago, before I signed for PSG, we were in contact in 2017.

"I chose a different direction but he wasn’t annoyed at me.

"He was a gentleman about it and wished me good luck."

Liverpool

The Reds have proven to be the most serious Premier League contender for Mbappe's signature during his tenure in Paris.

The Merseysiders originally rivalled Arsenal in the race to land him in 2017, with L’Equipe claiming that he held a two-hour meeting with Liverpool owner John W Henry on his private jet.

The report adds that Henry flew the Mbappe family over the bay of Nice and its surroundings to discuss his plans.

Despite Mbappe settling on PSG, Liverpool's interest has remained, with out-going boss Jurgen Klopp a huge admirer.

Mbappe even admitted he held brief talks with the Anfield outfit in the summer of 2021 when it looked as if he could be leaving France.

"We talked a little bit, but not too much. We talked a little bit,’" Mbappe told The Telegraph.

"I talked to Liverpool because it’s the favourite club of my mum; my mum loves Liverpool. I don’t know why, you will have to ask her.

"It’s a good club, and we met them five years ago (too). When I was in Monaco, I met them. It’s a big club."