Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe revealed that the forward was in talks to sign for Liverpool prior to renewing his deal with the French club.
Mbappe made the shock decision to stay at PSG, signing a new three-year deal this week, snubbing Real Madrid ahead of Los Blancos' Champions League final clash against the Reds. Madrid had been confident of signing the 23-year-old for months, whilst Liverpool had also been strongly linked with Mbappe and the forward has revealed that he did consider a move to Anfield.
Mbappe exclusively told the Telegraph : “We talked a little bit, but not too much. We talked a little bit." The World Cup winner added that Liverpool held talks and had a chance of signing him when he decided to leave Monaco before the France international joined PSG in 2017.
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So, we decided to simulate what could have happened if Mbappe made the move to Liverpool this summer instead of renewing his deal with PSG? Could the World Cup winner fire the Reds to a historic quadruple?
We simulated the 2022/23 season with Mbappe in the Reds' squad and this is what happened.
What if Kylian Mbappe had signed for Liverpool?
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Mbappe to join the Reds at the start of the summer transfer window, using FM22 to run the simulation. This is what Mbappe's in-game profile looks like on FM22.
The World Cup winner is classed as an elite striker aged 23 with incredible attributes that can be developed further, as well as having player traits such as trying tricks, cutting inside from both wings and running with the ball often. Mbappe's top attributes include his Dribbling (18), Finishing (17), First Touch (17), Technique (17), Anticipation (17), Composure (18), Flair (18), Off The Ball (19), Acceleration (20), Agility (16) and Pace (20).
So how did Mbappe get on at Anfield? Perhaps unsurprisingly, he performed exceptionally well under Jurgen Klopp. The French forward was the club's top goal scorer and top assister in all competitions in the 2022/23 season, scoring 27 goals and registering 11 assists in all competitions. His total of 38 goal contributions was more than Mohamed Salah (36), Thiago (22), Sadio Mane (18) and Luis Diaz (14) managed.
Mbappe had an intense goalscoring rivalry throughout the campaign, not just with Salah and Mane, but with Man City's newest arrival Erling Haaland too. The Norwegian striker was clinical for Guardiola's side, but the World Cup winner was able to pip Haaland to the Golden Boot after scoring 20 goals in the Premier League season, one more than City's star striker (19).
Mbappe averaged a match rating of 7.53 in all competitions, only bettered by Salah (7.55) at the club. The 23-year-old averaged a pass completion rate of 87%, completed 1.10 tackles on average per 90 minutes and completed 2.08 dribbles per 90 minutes. At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Liverpool XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Liverpool's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022-23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Liverpool best XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Henderson; Salah, Mbappe, Mane.
Mbappe replaced Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota in the starting lineup, slotting in on the left-wing alongside Mane and Salah in attack. The French forward was the most clinical and best provider in the squad, playing a total of 52 games for the Reds in all competitions.
So, how did Liverpool perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Mbappe in the summer transfer window? Let's take a look.
Liverpool's results from the 2022-23 simulation
With Mbappe, Liverpool won the Premier League ahead of rivals Manchester City by two points. The Reds just pipped Pep Guardiola's side after Mbappe's winner at Anfield three games before the end of the season saw Jurgen Klopp's side leapfrog City in the table.
The Reds finished the 2022/23 season with the best goal difference in the league, scoring a total of 83 goals and conceding 28 in their 38 fixtures. Even with City signing Erling Haaland, the signing of Mbappe was enough for Liverpool to clinch the title ahead of their title rivals.
The Reds repeated their Carabao Cup and FA Cup success from the 2021/22 season beating City and Brentford in the domestic cups. In the Champions League, Liverpool faced City once again and with the biggest club trophy on the line, the Reds completed a historic quadruple-winning season by securing a 2-0 win in the final.
Overall, this Football Manager simulation predicts that if Liverpool were to sign Mbappe ahead of the 2022/23 season they could have gone on to complete a memorable quadruple, cementing themselves as the best English side in history. Mbappe's impact could have taken the Reds to another level after an intense 2021/22 season, winning every trophy on offer at the start of the season.
Do you think Kylian Mbappe made the right decision this summer? And, how do you think he'd have performed under Jurgen Klopp? Let us know in the comments!
