Manchester United had the chance to scout Kylian Mbappe before he became one of the biggest names in world football, but Ryan Giggs says the club ultimately decided not to pursue the French forward.
Ryan Giggs was working as a coach at Manchester United in 2015 when he was approached by a man who recommended that the club take a closer look at a young player in France.
The former United winger recalled the conversation and what happened next.
“I was a coach at United in 2015. I’m in a hotel in the South of France, and a guy comes up to me saying, ‘Hi, I’m Lionel. I watch a lot of youth football in France, and you have to look at this player… he’s called Kylian Mbappe,” Ryan Giggs said while talking to Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube show.
Giggs and another United coach followed the recommendation and went to watch Mbappe in action. What they saw immediately caught their attention.
“Me and another coach at United then went to watch him. We looked at each other and said, ‘wow, what is this?’ He looked exceptional.”
Manchester United scouting team were not convinced
The coaches passed their report on to United’s scouting department, with further members of the club then sent to assess Mbappe.
However, Giggs says the feedback that eventually came back was far less enthusiastic.
“We told the scouting team. Others went to watch him. A few weeks later, they said, ‘Yeah, we aren’t too sure about him.’”
And that was effectively the end of United’s interest.
“And that was it…”
Kylian Mbappe would go on to establish himself at Monaco before becoming a superstar with Paris Saint-Germain and France. He eventually went on to win the World Cup as well.
