Chelsea blundered badly when they rejected the chance to sign this world-beating star
Chelsea have spent a lucrative wad of money since Todd Boehly’s arrival, eclipsing the £1bn mark in his 17 months at the club.
The American businessman has splashed the cash and aimed to craft the Premier League outfit into a team capable of competing for silverware both domestically and in Europe.
While this chronic spending has done wonders to reshape an ageing squad with youthful talent, it is yet to provide the west London outfit with the requisite success.
What’s more alarming, however, is the fact that Chelsea rejected the opportunity to sign a world-class star as a youngster in the past who would have administered their dominance at the top of European football for years to come.
Did Chelsea almost sign Kylian Mbappe?
Kylian Mbappe may have become one of the best players on the planet at Paris Saint-Germain, however, the French superstar could have first made his name in the Premier League had Chelsea not passed up the opportunity to sign him.
Indeed, the Blues former scout Serge Daniel Boga brought him to the club’s Cobham Training Centre in 2012, where the youngster immediately impressed on trial, as per GOAL.
Despite instantly showcasing his attacking talent, Chelsea were reluctant to snap him up as concerns over the defensive side of his game prompted the Londoners to request a second trial, but that didn’t go down well with Mbappe’s mother.
She said: “Listen, my boy won’t be coming back. If they want him they have to take him now or in five year’s time they will be coming back to buy him for €50 million!”
It turns out Mbappe’s mother was right to believe in her son’s world-beating talents as he’d go on to cost PSG a whopping £166m five years later while the rest, as they say, is history.
How many goals has Kylian Mbappe scored?
When discussing the career of Mbappe so far, the term ‘generational talent’ springs to mind.
At the age of 24, the French superstar has already won more trophies than most players do in an entire career.
For instance, in 2018 he became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958 and at that point, those watching him in action knew he was going to be special, backing that up remarkably by scoring a hat-trick in the showpiece in Qatar in 2022, only to watch his side lose to Argentina on penalties.
While it’s difficult to stop Mbappe from hoovering up a whole host of accolades, it is near impossible to stop him on the pitch too as he combines his blistering pace and lethal finishing to devastating effect, remaining incredibly composed in the final third and thriving in high-pressure situations, as seen with his heroics for club and country.
Lauded by iconic manager Carlo Ancelotti as the “best player in European football”, Mbappe is now arguably the best in the world, posting a robot-like goal record that propels him towards Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo territory.
In 270 appearances for PSG, the “incredible” goal machine, as dubbed by Messi himself for his World Cup final treble, has scored an eye-watering 221 goals and supplied 99 assists, averaging more than a goal contribution per game.
The 72-cap international’s relentless consistency and the power to win a match on his own haven’t been enough to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or as of yet, however, it feels only a matter of time before he gets his hands on one.
Over the years, there are many clubs who have missed out on world-beating talent through their own misjudgement but Chelsea’s decision to not sign Mbappe, who is now valued at £130m (€150m) as per CIES Football Observatory, takes the top spot in that list.
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