How Manchester United Missed Out On Mbappe

Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Kylian Mbappe as a teenage prospect but decided against pursuing the future superstar after club scouts expressed doubts about his potential, according to former United player and coach Ryan Giggs.

Giggs revealed the story while appearing on a podcast hosted by his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand, recalling how he was alerted to Mbappe's talent while the French forward was still developing at Monaco.

At the time, Giggs was working as an assistant to manager Louis van Gaal and said a football scout approached him while he was visiting southern France in 2015.

The scout, who was a Manchester United supporter, told Giggs about a young Monaco player he believed could become a star at Old Trafford.

"He told me I had to look at this player. He's called Kylian Mbappe. He's at Monaco and I think he's a player for Man United," Giggs recalled.

The scout subsequently contacted Giggs by email with further information about the teenager. Giggs and fellow United assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg then travelled to watch Mbappe play for Monaco's youth team.

The former Wales international said both coaches were immediately impressed by what they saw.

"We were just like, 'Wow! What is this?'" Giggs said. "You see players and they can be special, and he did look exceptional."

Giggs and Stuivenberg subsequently asked Manchester United's scouting department to assess Mbappe.

A scout based in France was sent to watch him during a match between Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain in Paris. However, the assessment did not convince the club to make a move.

"A few weeks later I said to this guy, 'How did it go?' He went, 'Yeah, they weren't too sure about him,'" Giggs said.

"And I just went, 'All right, OK.' And that was it."

Mbappe's career soon provided a remarkable answer to those doubts.

During the 2016-17 season, aged just 17, he scored 26 goals in 44 appearances for Monaco as the club won the Ligue 1 title. He also scored six goals during Monaco's run to the Champions League semi-finals.

His performances attracted the attention of Europe's biggest clubs, with Paris Saint-Germain initially taking him on loan before making the move permanent in 2018.

Mbappe went on to become one of the most prolific goalscorers in PSG history, scoring 256 goals in 308 appearances and helping the club win six Ligue 1 titles.

He later moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2024, having already established himself as one of the world's leading forwards.

Internationally, Mbappe has enjoyed similar success with France. He helped the national team win the 2018 World Cup in Russia and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina in Qatar, despite France ultimately losing the match on penalties.

He won the tournament's Golden Boot after finishing with eight goals.

Mbappe, now 27, has continued to add to a long list of club and international scoring records, making Manchester United's decision not to pursue him as a teenager one of the more striking examples of a missed opportunity in modern football scouting.