Liverpool’s failed Mbappe pursuit is a masterclass in how money moves in elite sports, and why crypto is rewriting those rules

Jurgen Klopp just pulled back the curtain on one of football’s most elaborate what-if scenarios. During a July 9 appearance on MagentaTV, the former Liverpool manager revealed that the club chartered a private jet from Blackpool to Nice, flew Kylian Mbappe’s family aboard a five-room aircraft, and wined and dined them in a last-ditch effort to sign the French phenom from AS Monaco.

It didn’t work. Mbappe went to Paris Saint-Germain instead, and Klopp now refers to the whole affair as Liverpool’s “most expensive non-transfer.”

The recruitment flight that went nowhere

It’s 2017, and Kylian Mbappe is the most coveted teenager in world football. Liverpool’s ownership, including John W. Henry, wanted in on the bidding. According to Klopp’s account, Liverpool flew to Nice and brought Mbappe’s family onto a chartered aircraft designed with five separate rooms. The goal was discretion. The result was a very expensive meal at 30,000 feet that produced zero signatures.

Mbappe completed his move to PSG for what was then a record fee. Klopp has publicly discussed the club’s admiration for Mbappe multiple times between 2019 and 2023, consistently pointing to one immovable obstacle: money. Liverpool simply couldn’t match the financial package PSG offered. In May 2022, Mbappe himself confirmed that he’d entertained discussions with Liverpool before ultimately re-signing with PSG.

The tokenization of sports finance

Liverpool owner John W. Henry comes from a quantitative trading background. His firm, Fenway Sports Group, has always been data-driven in its approach to sports ownership.

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