"Senior Anfield figures" held negotiations over deal to sign  £137million superstar - one thing "soon became clear"

Senior Liverpool representatives held talks with Kylian Mbappe over a move to Anfield, James Pearce confirms in a column for the Athletic.

Mbappe told the Telegraph that he talked with Liverpool due to his mother's love for the Reds. However, talks soon fell through before he wound up signing a three-year renewal with PSG.

It would have been a dream to see the Frenchman join Liverpool but it was never going to be a possibility for Jurgen Klopp.

"It soon became clear," writes James Pearce, "that they [Liverpool] just couldn’t make the numbers work financially."

When you read how much Mbappe will earn with PSG over the next three years, I can't blame FSG for not being prepared to stump up the cash.

Mbappe's three year contract is worth:

In addition to that Mbappe has the power to:

Liverpool were never going to agree to a deal with any of that.

It would have been quite something to see Mbappe at Liverpool but money has ruined football.

And in many ways, he's now so unreliable to the average fan that he might not be suited to playing for a club like Liverpool that has such an innate relationship with its working-class following.

That's why Jurgen Klopp has been a huge success at Anfield as he gets the home crowd and understands their pain points and the German spoke to the media about him last month.

Kylian Mbappe held talks with Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp confirmed

In May, he told reporters when asked about whether or not Liverpool were interested in signing Mbappe: “Of course we had interest in him, we are not blind!”

When asked if talks had been held, which the player has admitted to, Klopp said: “Nothing to say about that. But with Kylian it is all set, all fine. We, of course, like him.

“And if you don’t like him, you have to question yourself.

“But we cannot be part of these battles between, there must be other clubs involved, but that’s fine.”

Another reference to the insane sums of money involved in the Mbappe saga.

This summer is going to be fascinating to watch as Klopp now has to rebuild part of his Liverpool side.

Sadio Mane leaving the club is a massive moment in its recent history and how the Reds respond is going to define how much success they will enjoy in the next few years.