The real reason Kylian Mbappé actually rejected Manchester United now seems quite ironic

Kylian Mbappe once reportedly turned down the chance to sign for Manchester United because he didn't like the way they played under José Mourinho.

Ryan Giggs has confirmed United had actually been tracking the French international even earlier, when he was still a teenager at AS Monaco. The Welshman claimed United ultimately decided against pursuing Mbappé after their scouts expressed doubts, but two years later another report suggested it was the player himself who had no interest in moving to Old Trafford.

Mbappé reportedly didn't like United's style of play under Mourinho and had his sights set on Real Madrid instead. Eleven years later, he is playing for the club he always dreamed of representing, but is now managed by the very coach whose style reportedly put him off moving to Old Trafford.

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Why Kylian Mbappé rejected Manchester United

Mbappé had reportedly been on United's radar for several years and supposedly came up in conversations during the 2017 summer transfer window.

L'Équipe claimed the 18-year-old had privately revealed he had no intention of moving to the club while they were managed by Mourinho because of their unattractive style of play. It was also claimed that the Monaco forward felt he would struggle for playing time, given that Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were both already competing for places in his position.

The report suggested Mbappé's preference was to join Real Madrid because he wanted to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and believed he would be a perfect fit for the attacking approach under legendary boss Zinedine Zidane.

Mbappé instead joined Paris Saint-Germain on an initial loan deal that summer, with an obligation to make the move permanent, before sealing a transfer to the Bernabéu in 2024. He will also fulfil his dream of playing under Zidane after the 54-year-old was appointed as the new head coach of the French national team.

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Ryan Giggs confirms Manchester United interest in Kylian Mbappé

Giggs revealed that United had also considered a move for Mbappé two years earlier, when he was an assistant to Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.

The United great claimed he was given a tip-off about the talented forward by a local in France and instructed the club's scouting department to produce reports on him.

"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. And I can feel someone, you know, when you feel someone like following you," he told Rio Ferdinand Presents.

"I get to the hotel and then all of a sudden I can feel someone coming up to me. This guy is called Lionel. He comes up to me and says, 'Hi, I'm Lionel. I just wanted to just say hello. I'm a big United fan and big fan of yours. I watch a lot of youth football in France, and you have to look at this player. He's called Kylian Mbappé. He's at Monaco and I think he's a player for Manchester United.'

"A few weeks later, he emailed me all the details. So me and Albert [Stuivenberg], he was another assistant at United at the time, I've told him about this thing.

"We go to a few youth games with Monaco and we've seen him and we were just like, 'Wow, what is this?' You can see players, and they can be special, but he did look exceptional, obviously. We told the scouting team. 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. Anyway, I think a few weeks later, I said to this guy, 'How did it go?' He went, 'Yeah, they weren't too sure about him, so we just left it.' And that was it."

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