Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Kylian Mbappe during his teenage years at Monaco but decided against pursuing the future France superstar, former club winger Ryan Giggs has revealed. Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Giggs recalled being approached in southern France by a man who urged him to watch the young Mbappe. Giggs, United’s record appearance holder, said the club became aware of Mbappe during his time as a youth player at Monaco in 2015, when the former Wales international was serving as an assistant to manager Louis van Gaal, according to ESPN.
“So, I’m in the south of France. I’ve been for a walk in the local village and I’m walking back to the hotel. I’m walking on the beach back to the hotel.
I was coaching United, so it’d be 2015. The Frenchman has won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice, in 2022 and 2026, becoming the first player to claim the award on two occasions. He also won the Golden Boy award in 2017 and the Kopa Trophy in 2018. Mbappe was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side and also won the UEFA Nations League in 2021. He finished as the World Cup runner-up in 2022 before helping France to further success on the international stage. At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappe further enhanced his legacy by becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 career goals.
And you can feel, I can feel someone, you know, when you feel someone like following you,” he said, according to ESPN.
United’s scouting team subsequently watched Mbappe during a Monaco match against Paris Saint-Germain, but the club ultimately decided not to pursue the forward. They went to watch him. Someone in France went to watch him and he was actually playing PSG. Monaco were playing PSG. So they went to Paris to watch him.
He further added, “So anyway, we told the scouting team. Anyway, I think a few weeks later, I said to this guy ‘how did it go?’ and he went ‘yeah, they weren’t too sure about him, so we just left it, and that was it.'”
