Did Liverpool dodge a £166m Kylian Mbappe bullet? Real Madrid's regret says YES | OneFootball

New information has come to light about Kylian Mbappe’s start at Real Madrid - and how it might have been a massive bullet dodged by Liverpool.

Mbappe was credibly linked with the Reds for a number of years whilst he was at Paris Saint-Germain, and there seemed to be a constant saga over where he would be playing his football, with Real Madrid obviously winning out in the end.

Those links with Liverpool were not merely conjecture either. Mbappe was effusive in his praise of Liverpool over the years, the style of football and the fact he enjoyed watching the Reds in action during the years Jürgen Klopp was in charge at Anfield.

A recent report from L’Equipe in France even suggested that Mbappe and Liverpool had agreed terms on a contract in the summer of 2022, with a €200m bid tabled for the Frenchman. However, an unnamed source close to the Parisian club has dismissed the story, saying that the only bid that arrived for Mbappe between 2022 and his eventual departure was from Saudi Arabia.

Now though, storied French reporter Romain Molina has broken an explosive new story suggesting that Real Madrid have “regret” over bringing Mbappe to the club.

"The club are gutted"

Speaking on the Colinterview YouTube channel, Molina said: “They regret bringing him in. I guarantee that. I have spoken about it off [the record].

“It hasn’t been at all what they were expecting. It was a whim of [Florentino] Perez. It was only Perez that wanted him.

“[Perez] has always liked the big players. He also has a filial relationship with him [Mbappe]. The club are gutted, firstly with his level [of performances], which is not at all at the expected levels, in the dressing room it isn’t great, that isn’t necessarily Mbappe’s fault though.

“I think Real have made a big mistake. He didn’t have a pre-season, he played instantly, unlike [Jude] Bellingham.

“When you see how [Mbappe] is physically at 25, you can’t explain it to me. The physical drop-off that he has had at 25, I have never seen that.”

Given the amount of money Real Madrid have invested in Mbappe, a yearly salary reported to be £12.8m and a signing-on fee of £106m, it feels like potentially a massive bullet dodged for Liverpool.

Of course, it is early days for Mbappe in the Spanish capital, and given that he is one of world football’s pre-eminent superstars it is surely only a matter of time before he adjusts and comes good.

For the time being though, it looks like Liverpool have been fortunate to miss out on Mbappe, save money and not disrupt the atmosphere at the club.