Micah Richards has suggested that Kylian Mbappe should join Liverpool instead of Real Madrid.
The pundit made the claim during the coverage of last night’s Champions League games for CBS Sports (09/03/22 10.10pm).
“I don’t think he should go to Real Madrid though,” said Richards after the Spanish side knocked out Mbappe’s current employers, PSG.
“Like Thierry (Henry) said, ‘his mind might be already made up’. But I would be going to Manchester City or Liverpool.”
Richards said that Mbappe should look to sign for one of the English clubs due to their style of play.
“They are the two best teams consistently, I would say in Europe. Yes, people will say ‘Man City have never won the Champions League’. But, the way they play, the points record. I would be going to either Liverpool or Man City.”
No transfer fee to consider
PSG rejected Real’s mammoth £137m bid for Mbappe in the late stages of last summer’s transfer window.
Although contract talks are said to be ongoing (AS), it looks for all the world like the Frenchman will leave for the Spanish capital on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Without a huge transfer fee to consider, a move for the 23-year-old may seem more realistic to Liverpool fans. But the truth is that the wages he is likely to demand make the transfer pretty much an impossibility.
City of course would have no such issues. However, Pep Guardiola’s team don’t appear to be in the running for Mbappe.
Henry weighs in
Responding to Richards, Thierry Henry suggests that Mbappe’s decision may not be made completely rationally.
“You still have players nowadays that still want to play for a team that they used to support or like. I can understand that. I don’t know anything,” said Henry in response to Richards.
“But, sometimes, players are like ‘I used to support the team’. I don’t care who plays well in Europe, this is where I want to go because this is what I feel. I think that might be the case with him.”
Unfortunately for Liverpool, City and any other would be suitors of any top talent, this kind of thinking happens a lot.
Despite the English clubs probably representing a better ‘footballing move’ at the moment, the pull of Madrid and Barcelona is still palpable.
Even whilst not considered amongst the top teams in Europe, they can still attract the best talent.
Spotting hidden gems
At Liverpool, Jamie Carragher has previously claimed that Jurgen Klopp ‘doesn’t buy superstars, he makes them’. The Liverpool manager is The Reds biggest attraction and any footballer would surely love to play for him.
But Klopp prefers to bring in slightly more raw talent and develop them into something special.
He did it with Sadio Mane, he did it with Andy Robertson and perhaps most impressively of all, he helped turn Mohamed Salah into the best player in the world.
Maybe there is still a slim chance that Mbappe, who cost PSG £166m, could end up in England next season. But most likely last night’s trip to the Bernabeu has confirmed to him that his future lies in Spain.
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